Celestial Chronicles 01: The Dark Veil
by MartyCessna
Summary: When they investigate the disappearance of several fleet ships, Apollo and Boomer discover something unexpected that could change the course of the war, and their lives. Beware of the Sue-ism, I wrote this without a lot of Fanfic experience behind me.
1. Missing

"Felgercarb!" said Lieutenant Starbuck, "That's the third time this secton that we've been sent after Cylon scoutships!" He yanked off his helmet as he stepped down from his Blue Squadron Viper fighter.

Captain Apollo, Starbuck's good friend and squadron leader, stood nearby. Apollo grimaced, "You know what that means."

"Yeah," Starbuck groaned, "They're probably gearing up for something really bad." He followed Apollo to the pilot's quarters.

"And with all those ships disappearing, Commander Adama's being extra cautious." Apollo added. Commander Adama was the leader of the last battlestar, _Galactica_, and he was Apollo's father.

Starbuck placed his helmet in his cubby and turned to his friend, "I don't get it, Apollo. How can four ships disappear without a trace, in less than a secton, and without anyone noticing what happened? A person can hardly breathe in this fleet without someone knowing about it!"

"I don't know," Apollo sighed, "but we've got to stay on our toes if we want to keep it from happening again."

"Well right now, I'm going to the officers' lounge for a break from all this combat. I don't know about you, but _my _toes are tired!" Starbuck began heading towards the door.

"Lieutenant."

Starbuck reluctantly stopped.

"Commander Adama's holding a meeting tonight to discuss what to do about the missing ships," Apollo informed him.

Starbuck grinned evasively, "Good for him! Discussing the problem...that's a good thing to do! Hope they find a solution." Starbuck resumed his course to the door.

"Starbuck."

Once again, Starbuck stopped.

"He _strongly _suggested that all of the warriors be present. I hope you're planning on coming."

Starbuck winced, but continued grinning. He knew there was no way out.

"Count me in," he said weakly.


	2. Meeting

Later that evening, everyone assembled in the Galactica's public meeting hall. The Council of the Twelve sat at their twelve-seated table, while the warriors stood throughout the room. Commander Adama addressed the whole group.

"We are here because of the tragedy which has recently befallen us. I'm sure you are all aware that four of the ships from our fleet have mysteriously disappeared: the _Pleiades_, the _Leo_, the _Antari_, and the _Cassini_. What you may not know," Adama leaned on the council table, "Is that all four ships were at the tail end of the fleet when they disappeared."

Everyone looked up in surprise.

An older man stood: a member of the Council of the Twelve. He had an irritating calm superiority about him. He spoke slowly and deliberately,

"Perhaps we have our answer right there," the man said, "Perhaps the pace we set is too fast, and those ships simply fell behind."

This man's suggestion brought nods from the council. The warriors, however, exchanged glances. They thought that idea was a load of felgercarb.

The man continued as slowly as before, "If we slow down and wait, those ships will likely rejoin the fleet within a few centares."

"Those ships are off our sensors." Adama paced," If they fell behind as you suggest, Sire Uri, they are many sentons behind us. In that case, they didn't stand a chance against the Cylons."

Adama's realistic remark also brought nods from the council.

"That aside, those four were fast ships. They were stationed in the rear of the fleet to ensure that the slower ships didn't get left behind," said Adama gravely.

The council all nodded and murmured in agreement.

Sire Uri sat down with a deflated thump.

"However it happened, what are we going to do about it?" asked Ajax, the captain of the Red Squadron.

"What I propose we do," Adama answered, "is we take measures to prevent this from happening again. We need to remain in constant contact with the ships at the end of the fleet, and we should have regular patrols keeping watch on them. Also, we should find out what happened to the four missing ships. I've selected Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Boomer to get to the bottom of these disappearances."

The council members began discussing and talking; then they all cast their vote. One council member stood to speak for all of them.

"You have the support of the Council of the Twelve, Adama. Please proceed with your plan."

"Thank you, Sire Memnon. Meeting dismissed!" Adama said.

Everyone began filing out of the meeting hall. Everyone that is, except for Apollo and Starbuck.

"Commander, all due respect, but why aren't I going on the mission? I'm just as qualified as Boomer..." Starbuck asked.

Adama held up his hand, "I am aware of that, Lieutenant, but you are also one of the best Viper pilots we have. We need you for protection of the fleet in case the Cylons mount an attack."

Starbuck sighed, disappointed, "You're the commander."

"Hey," smiled Apollo, "it's just one mission. Boomer and I'll be back and shooting up Cylons with you in no time!"

"Yeah, okay. Guess I'll go make sure my Viper is ready for battle. I'll see you guys later. Good luck." Starbuck excused himself and returned to Blue Squadron's quarters.

He thought to himself, _I can't believe they get to go on a special mission for the Commander, while I stay here and fight Cylons!_


	3. Castora

"I can't believe we are going on this mission while everyone else is protecting the fleet from the Cylons!" Boomer said as he tried to stuff himself into a canister.

"Think of it as a mandatory vacation," said the canister next to Boomer's, "At least we aren't getting shot at."

Boomer sighed, "You're right, Captain." He grabbed the lid and closed it on himself, "but I still don't like it. With all the patrols the Cylons are sending..." he trailed off.

"I know, but for now we've got to leave that to Starbuck and the other warriors," Apollo's voice said.

Boomer and Apollo were aboard the cargo ship _Castora, _at the tail end of the fleet. The two warriors had docked their Vipers and come aboard under the guise of a routine inspection. Then they'd hid themselves in canisters. They could now overhear if something was happening, for instance, if the ship left the fleet. The two warriors hoped that in this way, they could find out what happened to the other ships.

Of course, they also hoped that whatever happened to the _Castora_, they could find their way back to the _Galactica_.

A few centares passed. Apollo and Boomer stayed crammed in their canisters.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Apollo's muffled voice asked suddenly, "Something's happening!"

Boomer listened. Voices could be heard in rapid, urgent discussion. Hurried footsteps grew louder and quieter as the crew rushed around the ship.

"Sounds like...Captain! They're preparing to land!" Boomer exclaimed.

"You're right, Boomer, but on what? We're sectons away from any planets, as far as I know." Apollo answered.

"Beats me, Captain," Boomer sounded perplexed, "but we should check it out."

Apollo agreed.

Lids came off both canisters. Apollo and Boomer climbed out.

"This is not what I joined the military for." Boomer stiffly tried to move.

"Look!" gasped Apollo, pointing out a viewglass in front of them. Boomer looked, then he, too gasped.

If viewglass could be trusted, the _Castora_ was traveling through inky blackness. This would be normal, except for the complete absence of stars! There was only blackness as thick as Chronian cocoa juice.

And a huge, neon-lit planet looming dead ahead.

Apollo managed to get the attention of a crewmember that was rushing by.

"Where are we? Where's the fleet?" Apollo asked the crewmember.

"We lost contact with the fleet when we were surrounded by this black cloud, sir," the crewman replied, "As far as I know, we've been caught up in this planet's gravitational field and we cannot get free."

"What?" Boomer asked incredulously.

"We are going to make an emergency landing on this planet. If you'll excuse me, Captain? Lieutenant?" The crewman hurried off to help with the emergency landing procedures, leaving Apollo and Boomer standing by the viewglass.

"Well," said Apollo after a silent pause," At least we know how the _Castora_ disappeared."


	4. Celeste

The cargo ship _Castora _made a safe, if bumpy, landing on the mysterious planet. It wasn't long before the curious crew began to leave the ship and head for the nearest town. Apollo and Boomer joined them, hoping to find some clues to this mystery.

At the city gates, a banner stretched across the wide street. "Welcome to Vaga city Neos!" it proclaimed in basic, "Enjoy your stay here, where life is a gamble!"

The Colonials hadn't gone far when they discovered what the sign meant.

The city was full of casinos!

In fact, the city was nothing but casinos. Apollo's mind filled up with questions. What is this strange planet? Why didn't it show up on sensors? What was that black cloud, and why was the _Castora _brought here? Why were there so many casinos? And most of all, was this were the other missing ships had gone?

Apollo needed to get some answers. He led Boomer to a brightly lit place called The Astros_. _

The two warriors stepped into the large casino. All around them, people gambled and drank colorful liquids. Scantily clad women waltzed by, leaving little to the imagination. Bizarre music came from somewhere. People danced, cubits gleamed, and lights flashed. The whole scene reminded Apollo of Carillon.

"Wow, good thing Starbuck didn't come with us!" Apollo remarked.

"Yeah," Boomer agreed, "Who knows what trouble he could get into here!" He glanced around. Suddenly, Boomer noticed something very out of place in the otherworldly chancery.

"Um, Captain?" Boomer stared.

"Yeah, I see it."  
At a card table in the middle of the room, a person wearing a Colonial Warrior

uniform gambled. Apollo and Boomer could only catch glimpses because the person was surrounded by men.

Apollo began walking toward the card table and the mysterious person. Maybe they were from the fleet!

"Boomer, you wait here and tell me if you see anyone from the fleet. I'm going to check this out," Apollo called back to Boomer.

He walked through the crowd of men to the person in uniform.

The person was playing Pyramid, and the pot was quite large.

"There you have it, a full pyramid! Hmm, anyone have a better hand?" said the uniformed person, laying down a set of cards.

"Excuse me," Apollo said.

The person looked up at Apollo. The mystery warrior was a woman!

"Can I help you?" she asked, a bit irritated.

"Yes, um..." Apollo forgot to talk. He had become lost in the woman's eyes. Her deep blue eyes were simultaneously sad, determined, and laughing. Her blond hair was partially pulled behind her in a ponytail, with locks escaping and falling over her shoulders. She seemed about Apollo's age. Apollo decided that he liked a woman in uniform.

"Look, you interrupted a _very _good card game, so you'd better have more to say than that." the young woman said, but her eyes were teasing.

"Uh, oh, yeah..." Apollo looked down, "I was...just wondering where you got your uniform."

"Why, you want one like it?" The woman quipped, eying Apollo's nearly identical warrior uniform. Her uniform was much more battered than his.

"Um, no, actually I just wondered..." Apollo tried again.

"Who I am, why I'm here, and why we obviously have the same tailor."

"Something like that." Apollo answered, a bit surprised at the woman's quick comebacks.

The young woman smiled and lit up the already bright room, "Ok, sit down, and I'll tell you all about it. Right after these guys pay me!"

The other gamblers groaned, but handed her their cubits. Then they left in search of easier games.

"They hate losing to a woman," the woman said, pocketing the money, "but at least there's always new customers here. Keeps me in business," She grinned at Apollo.

"My name's Lieutenant Celeste of Ithaca Squadron. I'm a Colonial Warrior. Not a bad Viper pilot, either." Celeste paused and made a face, "Maybe I was too good. I'm the only member of my squadron who wasn't, uh, permanently decommissioned by the Cylons."

Apollo watched the strange young woman carefully. There was something unsettlingly familiar about her. Her smile, her accent, and her mannerisms...they reminded him of someone...

Celeste told Apollo everything. She was born in a small village on Caprica, and was separated from her family during a Cylon raid. She had lived with a foster family until she was about fourteen yahrens old. Then she had gone to the Academy on Caprica to train to be a Viper pilot. Celeste had wanted to fight the Cylons, whom she believed had killed her only living relatives. While she was in training, her father found her. He stayed with her for a few sentons. He spent the time telling her how much he disapproved of her career choice. Then he'd left, promising to return for her someday.

He never did.

Celeste had graduated with honors from the Academy, and stationed on Taurus with the rest of Ithaca squadron. Her Viper disappeared during an exercise, and her fellow pilots thought she was gone. She reappeared three yahrens later with increased piloting abilities.

That was just prior to a major Cylon attack.

Ithaca Squadron was headed home to Caprica for a short vacation when it happened. The relatively new pilots fought as hard and as well as any seasoned squadron, but the small squadron was no match for an entire Cylon attack force. One by one, the Ithaca Vipers were extinguished. Within only a few centons, Celeste was all that remained of Ithaca Squadron.

Then her Viper had become lost in a black cloud.

"Next thing I know, I'm stuck here on Vaga. I walk into Neos, enter a casino, and people hand me food and a key to an upstairs suite. Been here ever since. Got really good at gambling, too. You should see my dwelling, there's cubits, everywhere!" The woman absently jingled her pocket.

Apollo was silent a moment, wondering about her incredible story. Then he asked, "How long have you been here?"

Celeste's grin wavered a micron.

"Who knows?" she answered, "You tend to lose track of time around here. Several yahrens, at least, not that it was any choice of mine."

"You had a Viper...so why didn't you try to return to the Colonies?" Apollo asked.

"I did," the woman said simply, "but my Viper was a fairly old model. Even when I boosted the backup power to the sensors, the readings were blurry, sketchy at best. In that dark cloud, I was as blind as a betit outside its cave." She chuckled hollowly, then rose from her seat and began walking away.

"Wait! Hold on a centon!" Apollo rose and followed her, "When you landed here, you were near Caprica, right? How is that possible? We're lightyahrens away from the nearest Colony."

Celeste's expression darkened. "This planet's a trap," she said, "It hides in a cloud of dark gasses. It roams the stars, following the ion trails from starships. Then it snatches ships out of space and yanks them in with its excessive gravitational field. It bedazzles the crews with its charms and promises of a life of paradise," Celeste sighed sadly, "That's the legend, anyway. Sounds pretty accurate to me." She absently reached up and fingered the pilot's pins on her jacket collar.

"When they come here, the people forget the old ways." Celeste told Apollo, "The colonies, the war...all is forgotten here. All they do here is gamble!"

The woman warrior frowned and narrowed her eyes, "But I haven't forgotten. I won't forget. I wear my uniform, even though it doesn't mean anything to them here. I lost everything to that war! My family, my friends, my homeworld...they were taken from me. People died to free us from machines. Here, it seems like it was all for nothing." Celeste glared pointedly at some people using slot machines.

The she looked at Apollo and gasped in embarrassment, "Oh, I'm sorry, here I go, pouring out my problems on a total stranger!"

"No, it's ok," Apollo assured her, "I understand." He smiled sadly, "I've lost people to this war. Not my whole family, but my mother, my wife, my little brother, and a lot of my friends." Apollo sighed heavily, "Anyways, I'm the one who asked you for information."

"Yeah," Celeste regained her composure, "Well; now it's my turn, sir."

She looked intensely at Apollo, "I heard there was a really big Cylon attack and that the Colonies were destroyed. How long ago was that?"

"That was about two yahrens ago." Apollo answered her.

"And the battlestars?" Celeste inquired.

"All destroyed but one."

Now it was Celeste's turn to look shocked.

"One battlestar? I suppose that's where you came from," she said.

"Yes, it is." Apollo answered levelly.

"And who are you?"

Apollo grinned, "I thought you'd never ask. My name is Apollo. I'm the captain of the Blue Squadron aboard the battlestar _Galactica_. I'm originally from Caprica."

Celeste blinked her powerful eyes, "Ok," she said. She appeared to be calculating something in her head. Then she smiled winningly at Apollo.

"I'm coming with you," she declared.

Apollo was taken aback, "What? Where?"

"To your battlestar! I'll go crazy if I stay here! Wouldn't you?"

Apollo looked like he thought that had already happened.

"You...want to come with us?" Apollo asked incredulously.

"Don't make me beg, now, Captain."

"Uh, no, it's ok, but...you'd have to leave most of your stuff here. There's not much room in a Viper, as I'm sure you know."

"Yep," Celeste jingled her pocket again, "No problems there!"

"And since you are already a trained Colonial Viper pilot, you'd have to join a squadron and help protect the fleet from the Cylons."

"Ye-es, why do you think I joined the military in the first place? It wasn't the pay."

Apollo continued," And you probably would never come back to Vega." He already had a pretty good idea what she was going to say. Her eyes had already told him all that he needed to know.

"When do we launch?"


	5. Departure

Later that evening (Vaga Neos was in a constant state of night), Apollo and Boomer regrouped. They sat outside of a diner across from The Astros. Boomer told Apollo what he had found.

"Well, Captain, I spotted several people from the _Antari_ and the _Cassini _while we were in The Astros. Just now, I saw a security officer from the _Pleiades _walk by. I think it would be safe to say that we've found the missing ships." Boomer reported to Apollo. Apollo nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about the mysterious woman he'd just met.

"Captain?" Boomer looked curiously at Apollo, who was staring intensely at a wall.

"Uh, yes, Boomer? You were saying?" Apollo snapped back to reality.

"I was saying that we've found our missing ships...is something wrong, Apollo?" Boomer looked concerned, "I haven't seen you this out of it since...ever."

"You know that person in the warrior uniform back at The Astros?"

"Yes..."

Apollo proceeded to tell Boomer a shorter version of what Celeste had told him, ending with her declaration that she was coming back to the _Galactica _with them.

"And why is it that our fighters will make it through the cloud while hers could not?" Boomer asked when Apollo had told him Celeste's story.

"Her squadron flew older Vipers. Our ships have better sensors, and should have the instruments necessary to get us back." Apollo explained.

Boomer still didn't seem convinced, "And what happens if they don't?"

Apollo sighed, "How much do you like gambling?"

"Oh, boy." said Boomer.

"Hey, guys!" Celeste practically danced up to the warriors. She carried one large sack that jingled. Her well-worn boots had been cleaned and polished. The buckles and pins on her jacket shone.

Apollo called to her as she approached, "Are you ready to go?"

"Captain," answered Celeste, "I've been ready to go since I got here!"

Apollo grinned, "Okay. Oh, Boomer, this is Lt. Celeste. Celeste, this is Lt. Boomer."

Boomer nodded, smiling politely," Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise," Celeste said.

Boomer eyed Celeste suspiciously, shook his head, and led the trio out of town.

They arrived at the deserted _Castora _without incident. Celeste whistled when she saw the slight damage that had occurred during landing.

"Wow, you guys were lucky! Big ships like that usually are pulled into Vaga and smashed on the surface before landing procedures can even start!" Celeste told them as they walked up the landing stairs, "Too bad, really. If the ship was smaller, she could break the gravity and get off the ground again without any problem."

Boomer and Apollo exchanged glances. If the five Colonial ships couldn't take off, they couldn't rejoin the fleet. That is, if the crews even _wanted_ to rejoin.

The small group walked to the _Castora_ 's docking bay. Inside, two Viper fighters waited. With a flick of a switch, the bay lights came on and the exterior doors opened.

The two young men each walked to their respective Viper. Celeste stood in the doorway for a moment. She had the hint of a smile on her face as she looked at the ships. Then she entered the bay.

"It's good to be back!" she exclaimed. Neither Apollo nor Boomer had to ask her what she meant.

They understood.

Celeste strode up to Apollo's Viper and wistfully climbed into the passenger compartment behind the cockpit. Apollo smiled knowingly at her as he put on his helmet.

"Want to drive?" he asked.

"Yeah..."Celeste breathed.

"I have this extra helmet, here," Apollo offered.

"Um," Celeste's face lit up," well..."

"Oh, have you done a vertical takeoff before?" Apollo asked.

"Well, sure, I've done lots of them, but not in anything this fancy..."

Apollo nodded," All you do is push a button, and off you go. I'm sure you can handle it."

"Um," Celeste still hesitated.

"We're just flying to the _Galactica, _it's not like we are going into battle."

"Are you sure you want me to fly this thing?" Celeste asked, "I haven't flown anything in yahrens."

"Absolutely," Apollo grinned at her, "I insist." He reached in and handed her the extra helmet. Something told him that letting her fly the Viper was the right thing to do. Was it the smart thing to do? Probably not, but she was a Warrior, and a pilot. Plus, her eyes took on a luminescent sparkle when he handed her the helmet.

Celeste's eyes continued to sparkle as she put the helmet on, "Well, ok. But don't say I didn't warn you!" She slid into the cockpit. Apollo got comfortable in the passenger compartment.

"Ready?" he asked her over the helmet comm.

"Not really, but I guess we should go." Celeste said as the canopy closed over her head.

Celeste powered up the Viper. That much she knew how to do. She squinted at the controls. There were so many! They were much more sophisticated than on her own Viper.

Beside her, Boomer's fighter rose in the air. He skillfully piloted it out of the bay and into the blackness beyond. Biting her lip, Celeste punched the Vertical Takeoff button on the control panel.

"Here goes nothing," she mumbled as she grabbed the control stick. Her Viper rose into the air like Boomer's. Celeste smiled cockily; it was too easy!

"How're we doing, Lieutenant?" Apollo's voice asked inside her helmet.

Apollo grinned at Celeste's thrilled laughter. She was flying again!

Celeste caught up with Boomer. Side by side, the two Vipers flew into the seemingly endless cloud of darkness.


	6. Introductions

"I hope we get out of this cloud soon." Boomer remarked later. He'd been listening to Apollo relate a few of their adventures to Celeste. While that was all fine and interesting, Boomer was anxious to get back to the Galactica, and to his main occupation of protecting the fleet.

From her place in the cockpit, Celeste replied, "I know. My sensors are picking up a whole lot of nothing, and I don't know about you, but I hate flying blind. Besides, I can't wait to get to your battlestar! I can have a real life again!" Celeste happily drew in a breath of the cycled cockpit air, "What'd you say the battlestar was called?"

"The _Galactica_." Apollo answered.

Celeste shook her head as she guided the Viper alongside Boomer's, "It's kinda hard for me to imagine. I mean, the last battlestar…that attack must've been terrible!"

"It was," said Apollo, "but it caught a lot of people off guard. We probably could've repelled it better if the other battlestars had been prepared for it."

Just then, a star bravely peeked into the blackness. It was followed by another, and another.

"I think my sensors are coming back!" Celeste announced excitedly from the cockpit.

"That's great! Boomer, are you still with us?" Apollo asked.

Boomer replied, "Right here, Captain. I think we're through the worst of it. My sensors are reading the _Galactica _at about eighty microns from our position."

"Uh, same here," Celeste confirmed somewhat nervously.

"Okay," said Apollo, "Boomer, why don't you lead us in?"

"Yes, Captain." Boomer turboed ahead, followed by Celeste. Suddenly, the whole sky was filled with stars.

Celeste gasped at the sky. She hadn't seen the stars the whole time she'd been on Vaga.

"We're through," remarked Boomer, "and there's the fleet."

Ahead of the Vipers, 220 assorted ships flew in a rough line. They were led by a single battlestar. There were cruise ships, cargo ships, personal vessels, moving craft, agro ships, science vessels, and others. Shuttles glided between them, carrying passengers from ship to ship. Viper fighters patrolled the area, watching for signs of trouble. The whole scene was a breathtaking spectacle of light and motion, and framed by the sparkling stars.

To Celeste, heaven couldn't get closer.

"It's been so long…so long, I had forgotten," she breathed.

"Lt. Boomer to Lt. Celeste, we've been given clearance to land in Docking Bay Alpha. Do you copy?"

Celeste tensed up, "Uh, yeah…okay, that's great."

"Is something wrong, Lieutenant?" Apollo's voice asked in her helmet.

"Well," Celeste bit her lip, "not really. Except that I've never landed a Viper on a battlestar before."

"Never?" groaned Boomer.

"Ok, I did it once at the Academy, but that was yahrens ago, and it was a simulation. This is real life, here!" Celeste sounded very worried.

"It's a piece of cake." Apollo reassured her, "It's just like a regular landing, only the landing spot is a little hole on a moving ship."

"Oh, fun" said Celeste unenthusiastically.

"Just follow me in, Lieutenant. You'll do fine." Boomer told her.

Celeste did not share their optimism. She sighed and gripped the controls. Her eyes followed Boomer's Viper in front of her. Mentally, she reviewed everything she had ever learned about landing. _I really don't want to screw this up._ She thought,_ If I can land the Viper well enough, I might be able to join Apollo's Blue Squadron on the Galactica. If not, I might get stuck flying shuttles all day. My whole future is on the line!_

She watched Boomer as he expertly lined his Viper up with the landing bay opening. His Viper seemed to get smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely into the battlestar. Celeste made micro adjustments with her control stick. Now it was her turn.

The Viper seemed to buck and wiggle under Celeste's feet. She tried to stay in control as she neared the impossibly small landing bay hole. Celeste gently lined it up. She didn't fight it. The bay came closer…until she was upon it. Celeste deployed the landing gear. Then she was in.

She heard a faint metallic thump as the Viper made contact with the _Galactica_. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as her canopy lifted.

Celeste climbed out of her cockpit and slid down the side of the Viper. She floated down the stairs that the orange-clad ground crew had wheeled up for her. She lifted her helmet from her head as she stepped to the ground. Apollo climbed down after her.

"Whew!" Celeste tossed her slightly sweaty hair.

Boomer walked over from his Viper, "Nice landing, Lieutenant."

"Thanks, " Celeste smiled.

"Boomer, do you mind explaining what you know at the debriefing? I'll join you there momentarily, but first I need to see to a few things." Apollo asked Boomer.

Boomer nodded, "Ok, Captain, I'll see you then." He walked in the direction of the debriefing room.

Celeste followed Apollo down a different hall, towards the officers' quarters. A little boy and a mechanical daggit ran up to Apollo.

"Dad! You're back!" the little boy cried happily as he hugged Apollo's legs. The daggit barked and whined.

"Hey, Boxey!" Apollo grinned at the boy, "What kind of trouble did you get into while I was gone?"

"Not much, but I taught Muffit a new trick, wanna see?" The little boy smiled adoringly up at Apollo. Then he turned to the daggit, "Muffit, wag your tail!" he commanded.

The daggit wagged; then it turned and barked at Celeste.

"Who's she?" the boy asked, "Muffit wants to know."

"Oh!" Apollo looked at Celeste, "Well, okay, Muffit," Apollo addressed the daggit, "This is Lt. Celeste. Celeste? This is Muffit, and my son Boxey."

Celeste smiled kindly, "Nice to meet you, Muffit. You too, Boxey."

Boxey beamed. "Do you like daggits?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," Celeste said, "As a matter of fact, I used to have one when I was growing up."

"Really? What was his name?" Boxey's already happy face lit up even more.

Celeste winked at Boxey, "His name was Spot. I taught him how to play games with me."

"Wow! Could you show Muffit and me sometime?" Boxey asked hopefully.

"Sure, I will, Boxey! Um, that is, if it's okay with your dad." Celeste looked questioningly at Apollo. She was unsure how he would feel about a strange woman spending time with his son.

Apollo looked from Celeste to the excited face of his son. He pretended to think hard before answering, "Well, I guess so. As long as you guys stay out of trouble."

"I promise!" Boxey said excitedly.

"What about you, Lieutenant?" Apollo turned to Celeste.

Celeste shrugged and grinned mischievously, "Hey, what could happen?"

"Could you show me right now?" Boxey asked Celeste.

"Right now it's time for little boys and daggits to be on their sleep cycle." Apollo gently told Boxey.

"Oh, ok." Boxey looked disappointed. Then he smiled, turned, and went down the hall, "Goodnight, Dad! See you tomorrow, Miss Celeste! Come on, Muffit, race you to the room!" he called.

"Your son's adorable!" Celeste remarked, "Someday, I want a kid like that!"

Apollo nodded and smiled, "Boxey's a good kid." Then he looked questioningly at the young woman beside him, "You're awfully good with kids, did you have any siblings?" He watched her carefully. There was just something about that girl!

"Yeah," Celeste saddened, "I had an older brother, but I barely remember him. I was only about three yahrens old when the Cylons attacked," she paused, then almost smiled, "The people who took me in also took in a lot of other foster kids, and I helped to care for them. Still, they weren't really like…family. I wish I'd known my brother."

Apollo's eyes were sad, "I lost a brother as well. A younger brother." Apollo sighed, "His name was Zac. He was a warrior. His Viper was destroyed by the Cylons during the big attack. It was his first patrol."

Celeste was silent a moment. She looked sympathetically at Apollo, "I'm sorry, Captain. That must've been terrible for you." For a micron, she got a peculiar look on her face. The look quickly vanished, leaving Apollo to wonder if it had been there at all.

Celeste looked down, "I don't even know my brother's name."

Apollo frowned as he began walking, "That's really a shame, Celeste."

"Yeah," Celeste began following Apollo, "Uhm, where are we going?" she asked the handsome captain.

"I'm going to find you some quarters. I bet you're pretty tired by now." Apollo stopped in front of a door.

The woman shook her head, "I'm too depressed now to be tired. Uh, where do you pilots go to get…undepressed?"

Apollo looked thoughtfully at Celeste, "Well, the only place I can think of would be the officers' lounge."

"What do they do there?" Celeste asked.

"They chat, have drinks, gamble, talk warrior talk, you know."

Celeste perked up, "Sounds great! Where is it?"

"Follow me," Apollo grinned privately. _Wait until the other pilots meet Celeste! _Apollo thought. _This could be interesting!_


	7. Pyramid

The officers' lounge was a roomy compartment with couches, bar stools, and card tables. Quite a few warriors were playing card games or just relaxing between patrols. Some sat on bar stools and sipped their drinks. Others hung out on the couches for a chat with friends.

"So, you think you'll be alright here while I go to debriefing?" Apollo asked Celeste.

"Sure…" Celeste scanned the room, not missing a detail.

Her eyes lit up when she spotted a group of pilots playing Pyramid.

"Hey, that's my favorite game!" Celeste grinned at Apollo. Apollo nodded and waved at her.

"Oh, Captain Apollo!" Celeste called to him. He stopped and looked at her curiously.

"Don't forget to tell them about me, and my idea for getting that planet off your tail."

"I won't," Apollo smiled, "I'll be back soon." Then he left.

Celeste sauntered over to the table with the Pyramid game and sat down.

"Mind if I join you guys?" the pretty woman warrior blinked innocently at the players.

The card players gaped at Celeste, "No, no, not at all!" they all said at the same time.

"No," added a cocky, handsome blond warrior with a cigar between his teeth, "I don't mind if you want toad more cubits to my pile!" He seemed unaffected by Celeste's charms.

Celeste grinned broadly and raised her eyebrows, "If _you _want more cubits, mister, you should try a different table!"

The dealer passed out the cards and the game began. Celeste blocked and bluffed her way through several games, winning most of them. The other players were getting discouraged, but not the blond one.

"Come on, guys," he said, "Her streak's gotta end sometime!"

So they played one more game.

The cards were dealt. Slowly, cubits began to be placed on the table.

Players folded rapidly as the bets grew.

The blond warrior tossed several cubits into the substantial cubit pile.

"Well, I fold," said the last holdout, a sergeant who the others called "Jolly".

Now it was between Celeste and the blond pilot. Celeste placed another stack of cubits on the table. The blond young man did likewise. Again, Celeste piled on more cubits. This time, the warrior hesitated. Then he set his last pile of cubits in the "pot". "Well, I'll hover here," he said. He looked expectantly at Celeste.

To his disappointment, she placed _her _last few cubits on the table.

"Well, Hotshot, what's it gonna be?" Celeste asked him.

"Read'em and weep!" The young man crowed as he flipped his cards over. "Unless you can beat four basebricks, three supportstones, and two topstones, the pot is all mine." The man sat back confidently in his chair and fingered his cigar.

Celeste calmly turned her cards over, but a huge, triumphant grin spread over her face, "Capstone!" Celeste smirked.

The warrior blinked. He leaned over to inspect her cards. _This can't be happening! _the warrior thought. There is only one capstone in a game of Pyramid. The chances of getting all nine of the other necessary cards _plus _the one capstone were very low. Yet, there it was. This strange woman had a full pyramid, complete with a capstone! All of the card players gasped.

"Who are you?" the blond pilot asked.

Celeste swept all of the cubits into her cubit bag, "My name is Lt. Celeste of the Ithaca Squadron," She answered, still grinning.

"Ithaca squadron? Hey, I didn't know there were any planet-based warriors in the fleet! How come I've never seen you around?" The man asked incredulously.

"Well," Celeste explained, "I've been stuck on a casino planet called Vaga for the past few yahrens. I arrived here with Captain Apollo just a few centares ago."

The blonde man shook his head, "A casino planet, huh? Well, it shows! I'm Lt. Starbuck of Blue Squadron, and I'd offer to buy you a drink, uh, but you've got all of my cubits."

"Lt. Starbuck, ah…Apollo told me about you on the flight from Vaga. From the sound of it, you and I've got several things in common." Celeste nodded at Starbuck, "How about I buy _you _a drink, and you tell me all about yourself?"

Starbuck looked apprehensively at Celeste, "Uh, I'd better not…the captain just walked in, and, besides, he probably did a very thorough job of telling you about me already."

"Ah," Celeste grinned mischievously, "I see. Well, I'll see you around." Celeste sauntered over to Apollo, her bag of cubits jingling.

Starbuck turned to a warrior nearby (who happened to be Boomer) and said, "I've got to have a talk with the captain about bringing strange women back when he returns from missions. If he does this too often, I'm going to go broke!"

Boomer chuckled at Starbuck's ironic remark and walked away. This left Starbuck to wonder at the stranger in the warrior uniform. He was not at all sure he liked her. There was something very strange about Lt. Celeste, and Starbuck didn't trust it. He silently watched her chat easily with the other warriors and Apollo. She seemed fully in control, as though she'd always been there. She fit in too well.

Meanwhile, Celeste finally had a moment to talk with Apollo alone.

"Captain?" she said.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Apollo turned and smiled kindly at her.

"Um, at the meeting, well, what happened?" Celeste asked.

"I told them about you, explained your situation…"

"And?" Celeste looked hopeful.

"And," Apollo sighed, "Colonel Tigh's decided to give you a chance _soon_ to show him how well you can handle yourself in a fighter."

"Oh." Celeste was disappointed. She wanted to fly Vipers…right now! But the Colonel was being fair. Celeste didn't want to get in trouble with her new friend Apollo and the leaders of the battlestar she hoped she could call "home". So she nodded in agreement.

"What did they think of my plan?" she asked.

"Well, I didn't get a chance to tell them about that."

Suddenly bells clanged and lights flashed. Warriors all over the room leapt into a flurry of action. They were being called on an alert!

"What can I do?" asked Celeste breathlessly as she followed Apollo to the door.

"Stay here." Apollo said firmly, and then he was gone with all the others.

Disappointed, Celeste plopped into a recently vacated sofa. She sighed, distractedly fingering her worn Colonial Warrior uniform.


	8. Battle

In the launch tubes, the Warrior pilots waited in their Vipers. Finally, the message came over the comm.

"_Galactica _bridge transferring control to Viper fighters. Launch when ready."

Then Viper craft came streaming out of the _Galactica_. They shot like missiles out of the big grey battlestar. The pilots soon discovered and engaged the reason for the all-squadron alert. Scores of Cylon fighters and a huge Cylon basestar were attacking the fleet!

Laser fire streaked across space as the battle began. Fighters were everywhere: dodging, attacking, and assisting. Occasionally, there was an explosion when a shot hit its mark.

Apollo, Starbuck, and Boomer were right in the middle of the fray. Ships zoomed past them as the warriors fought hard against the Cylons.

A fresh wave of Cylons came out of the basestar.

"Apollo…"

"I see them, Starbuck."

"We can't hold out against all those Cylons!" cried one lieutenant.

"Just keep fighting!"

"We don't stand a chance unless we do."

Voices came over the comm. The Colonial Warriors were tired, and there were fewer of them than usual. Many of the pilots had gone to a Triad game, and were as of now trapped on the passenger cruiser _Rising Star_.

The attack was unexpected and brutal.

In the _Galactica_, Celeste fidgeted on the couch. Finally, she stood up and began reprogramming the videocomm monitor. With a hiss of static, it switched from a Triad game on the _Rising Star_ to the _Galactica _/Viper fighters channel. There wasn't a visual, but Celeste could figure out what was going on.

"_Galactica_ control, this is Lieutenant Peleus! I'm in trouble, request emergency landing on Deck…" The channel filled with static.

The Cylons were winning.

The monitor continued to broadcast the desperate cries of the Colonial Warrior pilots, but there was no one in the lounge to hear it. Celeste was no longer in the room.


	9. Unexpected

"There's one on my tail, Apollo! I can't shake him!" Boomer cried a few centons later, trying to weave his Viper out of range.

"I've got him." Apollo maneuvered around to strike at the Cylon ship. Before Apollo could press his "fire" button, a shot came out of nowhere and obliterated the Cylon fighter!

"Thanks, Captain," Boomer said gratefully.

"That wasn't me!" Apollo answered, confused and surprised.

Starbuck asked, "Who was it, then?"

"Mind if I join you guys?" a familiar, female voice came over the comm.

"Celeste!" Apollo cried, "I told you to stay on the _Galactica_! You could get killed out here!"

"So could you," Celeste pointed out, "So could everybody."

Apollo watched as Celeste's Viper fired, hitting and destroying two Cylon fighters at the same time. He softened. Right now, the fleet needed all the help that they could get.

"Glad to have you with us, Lt. Celeste." Apollo said.

"_The captain's crazy._" Starbuck mumbled.

"What was that, Lt. Starbuck?" Apollo asked.

"Uh," Starbuck said, "nothing! I'll, uh, tell you later."

The warriors continued to fight. Celeste was tricking and destroying Cylons right and left. She had two on her tail. She turboed. She reversed. They came up beside her. She thrusted forward as soon as they fired. Both Cylons blasted each other out of the sky.

"What was that?"

"That was that new pilot that Captain Apollo brought on board!"

"How'd she do that?"

"She moves so fast!"

"Where'd she learn that?"

"Which squadron is she in?"

"Her own, I guess."

"What's she doing?"

The channels filled with such comments. Celeste was flying extremely dangerously, but it was working! She was just the inspiration the other pilots needed. They all began to concentrate on their fighting. The Colonials were putting up a good fight! Some of the Cylons began to fall back.

But not all of them did.

"Starbuck, look out!" Apollo cried.

Celeste turned in her cockpit to see what was happening. Two Cylon raiders were pursuing Starbuck's Viper! Celeste turboed for all she was worth, trying to reach Starbuck.

"Come on! Come on!" Celeste cried to her ship. She was still to far away to fire with any accuracy.

Apollo was closer. Laser bolts shot out of his Viper at the flat, disk-like Cylon ships. The two Cylon ships began exploding.

But Apollo's lasers came too late.

The Cylons had already fired.

Starbuck's Viper disappeared in a blast of fire and debris.


	10. Flames

In shock, Celeste pulled out. She was barely aware of Apollo finishing the destruction of the two Cylons. She was barely aware of anything. All she could see was Ithaca squadron being destroyed, one by one, by a Cylon attack force. She saw herself, unable to help them, hopelessly caught in Vaga's gravity. She saw her home in flames. She could do nothing. She saw the smiling family she never knew in the picture she used to have on her desk at the Academy. They were gone. All of them. She saw Starbuck, cocky and handsome, at the card table on the _Galactica. _He was gone too, now. She could do nothing.

Yes, she could. Because she knew…

"NO!" yelled Celeste. She turned her Viper and turboed straight in the direction of the Cylon basestar.

"Lt. Celeste! Get back here!" Apollo ordered.

"But Starbuck…we've got to…" Celeste stammered.

"There's nothing we can do now." Apollo had tears in his words.

Celeste swallowed hard and reversed her Viper's course. The fleet needed her now more than Starbuck did. There would be time, later.

_Poor Apollo,_ thought Celeste, _Starbuck's like a brother to him. Now he's lost two. _

Celeste halfheartedly rejoined the battle. Aside from Starbuck, the Warriors seemed to have the upper hand in the fighting. Celeste fired here and there. She shot a Cylon off the Red Squadron leader, Ajax's tail. Then she shot one off Boomer's. She hardly noticed when her main engine exploded.

"I'm hit," she said matter-of-factly.

Apollo blasted the Cylon who shot Celeste's Viper.

"Are you okay? You'd better try to get back to the _Galactica_, Lieutenant." Apollo sounded very concerned.

"Yes, Captain." Celeste wasn't in the mood to argue. She rolled her Viper to line it up with the nearest landing bay. She tried to slow it down, but the controls were unresponsive.

"Uh, oh," Celeste said. She flicked her comm. to the _Galactica_'s channel.

"Uh, _Galactica_, I've got a problem."

"Who is this?"

"This is Lt. Celeste of Ithaca Squadron," Celeste answered without thinking, "Um, requesting permission to make emergency landing in Bay, uh, Alpha."

"Please hold."

"Yes, ma'am," Celeste sighed frustratedly, "Hold! Hold? Exactly how am I supposed to do that?" she shouted at no one.

Her comm. crackled, "Permission granted, Lieutenant. Landing bay Alpha is notified and ready."

"I hope so! Tell them to get out of the way, I'm coming in hot!" Celeste said. She concentrated on the small hole that was Alpha Bay. _This was hard enough when I __had__ full control._ Celeste thought grimly.

She brought the Viper in fast and hard, trying desperately to slow it down. It hit the landing bay floor at an angle; the landing gear crumpled, snapped off, and skidded across the bay ahead of the Viper. Sparks flew from the skidding metal ship on the metal bay floor. Finally, the Viper crashed to a stop into some empty storage barrels. Ground crews began spraying it with fire retardant almost before it stopped.

Celeste leaped out of the cockpit, down the hastily moved staircase, and hit the ground running toward the launch bay. She flew past the medical crew who waited for her. Bewildered, they watched her go.

She reached the launch bay in record time (not that there was a record for that particular activity) and halted next to an empty Viper. Before anyone could react, Celeste had powered up and launched.

On the bridge, this caused a commotion.

"Sir, an unmanned Viper just launched from Bay Alpha!" a bridge crew officer named Athena cried. She was Commander Adama's daughter, and her job was to monitor the Vipers.

Commander Adama looked perplexed, but remained calm and cool.

"Impossible. Who's flying it?" Adama asked.

"All available pilots are already in the air, sir!" Athena listened to her earpiece. "Wait, except a Lt. Celeste who just landed a crippled ship in Alpha Bay."

Adama shook his head, but he said nothing.


	11. Pieces

Determinedly, Celeste rejoined the fight. She seemed driven by an almost inhuman force. Cylon after Cylon succumbed to Celeste's war path-like attack. Before, she had fought very well. Now, she fought as though possessed.

Centons after Celeste's offensive maneuvers resumed, the Cylons unexpectedly turned away from the Viper fighters. They flew off in a different direction. Without hesitation, Celeste followed them.

"Viper pilot! Break off pursuit immediately!" Ajax ordered when he saw her Viper going after the Cylons.

"Wait a micron!" Apollo broke in, "They're not retreating! They're headed for the fleet!" he cried, "everyone follow that viper!"

The several squadrons of Vipers turned as one and turboed after Celeste and the enemy fighters. The Cylons began firing on the Colonial fleet. Celeste's Viper carefully fired on the Cylons, trying not to hit the civilian ships. Celeste thrusted ahead of the chrome-colored ships. The Cylons, wishing to be rid of this particularly pesky warrior, all turned on her at once, following her.

This was exactly what Celeste wanted.

Weaving in and out of the civilian ships, Celeste led the Cylon raiders toward the end of the Colonial fleet. The Cylons followed, firing their weapons.

"Just a little farther!" Celeste mumbled as she continued on her way through the fleet. Suddenly, she was at the end of the line of ships. Celeste hit the reverse thrusters hard and pulled her nose up steeply, then turboed up and away.

Confused, the Cylons were caught off-guard. The majority of the Cylon attack force disappeared into a cloudy blackness and crashed harmlessly into an unseen planet (Harmlessly to the planet, not to the Cylons). The three remaining Cylons got their bearings and continued to pursue Celeste. One lone Cylon fighter streaked away to the basestar.

Celeste began weaving back through the civilian ships. The three Cylon ships followed her like hunting daggits on the trail of their prey. The Cylons fired more incessantly. Celeste dodged, she spun, she turboed. Several times, she turned a complete circle around a civilian ship. With each maneuver, the Cylons got more and more disoriented.

The other Viper pilots flew near the _Galactica, _watching this display of skill and cunning with a stunned respect for this strange pilot. They wanted to help, but how could they keep up with the spinning Celeste and the Cylons? She was taking more chances, flying more riskily, and reacting more quickly than any other Viper pilot anyone had ever seen.

Celeste watched her scanner. The _Galactica _loomed ahead: along with the Colonial Warriors in their Vipers. The woman pilot increased her speed towards the Vipers. When she got within a few microns, Celeste swerved, bringing the Cylons into the firing range of the other warriors. The Vipers fired, destroying two Cylons and sending the other one spinning.

Celeste flew beside the tail of the _Galactica,_ preparing to turn around and assist the other Vipers. With a slight movement of her hand on the control stick, the fighter turned. She looked out her canopy. She saw the spinning silver ship headed straight for her. She tried to hit reverse thrusters, too late. The ships collided, slamming Celeste's Viper hard into the side of the _Galactica._ The Cylon ship bounced, drifting away from the battlestar and Celeste's wrecked ship. A micron later, the Cylon fighter exploded.

"Lieutenant! Lt. Celeste! Do you read me?" Apollo cried, trying to see through the fiery wreckage of the Cylon ship.

Silence.

"Lieutenant? Can you hear me? Are you all right?" Apollo tried again, desperately.

"Yeah, Captain, but you're breaking up."

Everyone cheered while Apollo replied to the woman in the broken ship, "Hang on, and we'll get you out of there. What's your status?"

"Pretty good considering the right engine of the Viper is in here with me. Oh, and the canopy's badly cracked. I'm losing air. Um, nothing in here seems to work except the comm. in my helmet. How bad is it out there?" Celeste's voice came weakly over the comm.

Apollo paused, "Do you really want to know?"

"Ah, that bad, huh? Hey, at least Vipers aren't made of tin foil like Cylon raiders. How's the _Galactica_?"

Apollo flew past the wreckage, "She's got a dent of two, but not too bad. Probably inside, all they heard was a thump."

"Good," Celeste half-joked, "I wouldn't want the commander upset with me for scratching his ship." Celeste peered out the broken canopy. The only ship she saw was Apollo's Viper flying around. "Did the others land already?"

"Yeah," Apollo said, "some of them are picking up tow rods so we can bring you in. I'm running low on fuel, or I'd do it myself. Here they come! Sit tight, and I'll see you in the landing bay." Apollo's Viper turboed around the battlestar to line up for landing.

Celeste's head spun. She began to have tunnel vision. It reminded her of being in the gravitron in pilots training at the Academy.

Lt. Boomer's voice came through the buzzing in Celeste's head.

"Okay, Lieutenant, we're going to pull you off the _Galactica_, alright? Hold on, there could be a few bumps and jerks. You with me?"

"Yeah," Celeste croaked back, "Can't…talk…no…air…"

"I read you, Lieutenant. We'll have you out of there soon."

Boomer's words were followed by three metallic "thunks" as the tow rods connected with the smashed Viper. The three fighters moved slowly forward in unison. Celeste's ship began to peel away from the _Galactica_. With a final jolt, the Viper came free.

Celeste was barely aware of movement. "Boomer…tell Apollo that…Cylons…Starbuck…his bro…" Static obscured Celeste's gasping words.

"I can't hear you, Lieutenant." Boomer said, shaking his head.

"Tell Apollo…that…Cylons took…" the comm. went silent.

Celeste plunged into blackness.

The three Vipers carefully maneuvered the twisted piece of metal that used to be a Viper. They gently set it down on the _Galactica _landing bay.

Apollo stood waiting beside the ever-ready medical crew.

Boomer and the other two pilots climbed out of their Vipers as the ground crews dashed toward the ships. Apollo approached his friend.

"How is she?" he asked seriously.

Boomer looked grave, "She blacked out just short of the bay. Captain, it's a miracle she even survived the crash."

Apollo watched the med-tech team lift the inert warrior woman onto a stretcher and rush her away. He shook his head sadly.

"Boomer, we lost a lot of good pilots today. Pray we don't lose her, too." Apollo looked at Boomer, his eyes filled with deep grief for his missing friend.

Boomer sighed heavily, "I've been praying since the attack began."

Apollo put a hand on Boomer's shoulder, "You were good out there today, Boomer. Thanks."

Boomer looked down, "We were all good today."

Apollo looked at Boomer, nodded, and began walking toward the hall.

"Oh, Captain, before I forget! Celeste wanted me to give you a message. She told me right before she lost consciousness."

Apollo stopped, "What is it?"

"Well," Boomer sighed, "I'm not really sure. It was garbled by static. Something about the Cylons taking something. And…I think she also mentioned Starbuck."

Again Apollo nodded slowly, "Thanks for letting me know."

He left.


	12. Thoughts

_Good. Evil. Light. Dark. Warriors. Cylons. _

Thoughts randomly drifted through Celeste's mind.

_Vaga. Pyramid. Cubits. Starbuck. Daggit. Viper. _

Still her mind searched for a thought to cling to.

_Boxey. Galactica. Boom. Boom! Boom? No. Bad Boom. Silver? BAD SILVER! Apollo. Apollo…_

Subconsciously, the woman smiled.

_Apollo. Good Apollo. Kind Apollo. Handsome Apollo. _

Again she smiled. Her mind latched on and she rested.


	13. Message

Some time later, her mind resurfaced.

_Stars. Pretty Stars. Boom. Silver Boom. Silver Boom Galactica. Viper? Yes, Viper. Silver Boom Galactica Viper. Still doesn't make sense. _

_Start over. _

_Vipers. Cylons. Dark. Light. Light! Too bright! Can't breathe! Go back to dark! Voices…people! Bright!_

"She's coming out of it! Her eyes flickered!" someone far away cried.

Celeste blinked as her eyes adjusted. She began to move everything at once to sit up. Then she stopped when a wave of pain and stiffness enveloped her. Celeste lay back down and closed her eyes.

"Felgercarb." Celeste said. Then her eyes flew open. "Apollo! Where's Captain Apollo? I've got to tell him something…"

"Just relax. You've had a rough senton. I'm sure Captain Apollo will be glad to come see you as soon as you're ready." A pretty blonde med-tech stood over Celeste's bed, talking soothingly to the woman pilot.

Celeste sighed, "How long do I have to lay here?"

"Until you're better," the med-tech said, a little less soothingly.

"And…'bout how long will that be?" Celeste groaned.

The blonde med-tech sighed. "You warriors are all alike. You won't give yourselves time to heal!" She shook her head, "At least a secton. You did a pretty good job of getting yourself banged up." The blonde wiped her eyes.

"So I feel." Celeste winced. Then she squinted at the blonde, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." The med-tech turned away, "What do you mean?"

"Come on, I know those tears aren't for me. And med-techs don't just cry for no reason." Celeste said sarcastically. She softened, "What's the matter?"

The blonde sniffed, "I just…just…well…my pilot didn't…come home today."

"Oh," Celeste looked down, "that's a tough one. It's always hard to lose someone."

"Yes," The med-tech said softly, "It is."

"My friend Apollo lost one of his best friends." Celeste said, staring out a viewglass near her bed.

"I know," said the blonde woman, "Starbuck was my pilot."

"Really?" Celeste was slightly surprised, "Wow. I'm so sorry. I've never lost a boyfriend. Of course, it's hard to lose something you've never had. I lost a family, though."

The blonde tried to stop the flood of tears, "I feel so terrible! I'm crying, and you're the one who got rammed by a Cylon!"

"Aw, don't worry about it. I understand." Celeste said comfortingly, "Believe me…I understand"

"My name's Cassiopeia," the med-tech said.

Celeste smiled kindly, "I'm ..."

"Celeste?" Apollo walked in, concern all over his face. Cassiopeia quietly slipped out.

"Hey, Captain, what'd you think of _that _landing?" Celeste grinned teasingly.

Apollo tried to smile, for her sake, "A little sloppy. It could use work."

"I'll bet you're wondering if I ever actually _land _Vipers during combat." Celeste joked, then she grew serious, "the Viper…?"

"A total loss. They're not even sure they can use it for salvage."

The reality of what had happened slammed into Celeste like the Cylon had slammed into her Viper.

"Wow," she said.

"Yeah." Apollo sat down on a chair next to Celeste's bed, "So, how are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit in the head with a battlestar."

"You did."

"Well, that explains it."

"You sound like Starbuck." Apollo said without thinking. Celeste suddenly found her blanket very intriguing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" she started.

"No, it's ok. I'm sorry…" Apollo interrupted her. She glanced up.

Apollo looked deeply into Celeste's blue eyes. Celeste looked deeply back. She could tell he was hurting. If only he knew…would he believe her?

She'd have to try. He was her only chance. _Their _only chance.

"Captain? Did Boomer give you a message?" she asked.

"Somewhat. He said it was hard to hear you because there was too much static on the comm."

Celeste looked at him seriously, "I need to tell you something. You've got to promise me that, no matter how crazy it sounds, you'll hear me out, okay?"

She had Apollo's interest.

"Okay," he agreed.

Celeste took a deep breath, wincing when it found her cracked ribs.

"They're alive," Celeste's voice was almost a whisper. Her eyes were closed. "all of them!"

"All of who?" Apollo asked cautiously.

"All of the fighter pilots who were shot down in the past ten yahrens."

Apollo's eyes grew even sadder than before. He stood up slowly.

"Apollo! It's true! I saw them…on a Cylon basestar..."

Apollo stopped. He sighed, "That's impossible, Celeste. They're gone."

"No! I thought so too! Until _I _was shot down myself!" Celeste's voice was pleading and full of conviction. She fully believed what she was saying. Apollo faced her again, "What?" he said.

"Remember when I told you that I disappeared shortly after graduating from the Academy? My ship was destroyed, but I was transported somehow to a Cylon basestar. That's how I found it out. The Cylons are turning our warriors against us, Captain! They're brainwashing them…giving them Cylon capabilities and taking away their humanity! They started to change me, but I escaped." Celeste took a shaking breath. She was awakening memories that had been deeply buried for yahrens…for good reason. They haunted her.

"Why are you telling me this?" Apollo's eyes were distant.

"Because," Celeste looked down, "you believed me when I told you about my life. You helped me start a new life. You're…different, Captain. Different from all the other people I've met. You care. And I felt that I could trust you." Celeste blinked back a tear, "I had to tell someone! Ever since my…experience…I've sworn I'd return someday and free those warriors who couldn't escape."

Apollo was silent for several microns.

"What makes you think they're still…human?"

"The process takes at least ten yahrens to be complete." Celeste answered tiredly. She had told Apollo. Now it was up to him. She had done what she could.

Apollo stood up, "I'd like to believe you, Celeste." He shook his head, "You can't imagine how much I want to…but I can't. There's just no proof."

"I'm the proof!" Celeste cried in one final attempt. She could feel her one chance…_their _one chance…slipping away, "Apollo, you've seen me fight! Do you really think they teach those maneuvers at the Academy?"

Apollo, still shaking his head, walked out of the room, "I wish it could be true."

Tears came to Celeste's eyes. All those people. They had no hope now. Good warriors, all of them. They had dedicated their lives to protecting the Colonies from the Cylons. Celeste's Ithaca squadron…Starbuck…and even Apollo's brother! They had given their lives. She wouldn't let them die that way. Not Celeste. There had to be _something _she could do!

The woman warrior's eyes darkened to a determined gleam.

Celeste began scheming.

Sentons passed. Aside from scheming, Celeste spent the time being bored. She couldn't eat. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't even play Pyramid. All she could do was stare out a viewglass as med-techs made a fuss over her. They thought she was some kind of hero. Celeste didn't feel like a hero.

She stared at the stars as they went by. The woman marveled at the stars. Too long, she had been stuck on Vaga with its starless, endless nights. Celeste loved the stars. They seemed infinite. They somehow represented hope. Hope, that there might be a place, somewhere in all that infinity, where she could belong. Somewhere where she wasn't an outsider.

Somewhere to call "home".

_Someday, I'll have a family_, Celeste thought.


	14. Lemon

"Pilots! We have called you here because we've been given a mission."

Apollo stood next to Captain Ajax in the conference hall. The two captains addressed their squadrons.

"It isn't a glamorous mission, but it's a necessary one." Apollo continued.

"Yes," added Ajax, "Colonel Tigh and I have designed a plan to fly shuttles to the dark planet known as Vaga."

"The one that's following us?" asked a Red Squadron lieutenant.

"That's right," Apollo said, "We'll find the people on Vaga who wish to leave. Then we'll fly them back to the fleet. It's a pretty simple plan," Apollo paused, "Any questions?"

No one raised a question.

"Good," Ajax nodded, "We depart within the centar. Everyone locate your assigned shuttles and begin preparations. Dismissed!"

In the shuttlebay, Colonial Warriors were everywhere. Regular shuttle pilots had retired for the senton, glad for the short break. Each warrior found his or her assigned shuttle and began refamiliarizing themselves with the shuttle controls. For most of them, it had been quite a while since they had flown a shuttle.

Both Blue and Red Squadron warriors were too busy to notice that they had one unknown extra in their midst. The unknown warrior strode up to a computer terminal and began typing. This person somehow hacked into the shuttlebay mainframe. The person entered the shuttle assignment schedule, located a currently unassigned shuttle, and typed "Starbuck" next to it. The warrior saved the changes, smoothly naming Lt. Starbuck as the assigned pilot of the shuttle named _Lemon._

The mysterious person walked down the shuttle corridor until he or she was standing in front of a yellow pile of junk in a dark corner. It had the word "Lemon" painted in black on the side. The shuttle didn't appear to have been serviced, used, or even _looked _at, for several yahrens.

Shrugging, the person dressed as a warrior silently boarded the shuttle, powered it up, and began takeoff procedures.

When the other warriors flew out of the shuttlebay, the _Lemon _was among them.


	15. Mystery

Apollo glanced at his sensor readings. _Good. _He thought, _we're all here._

"Hey, Captain Apollo," Ajax said over the leader channel on the comm., "What's the _Lemon _doing here? I thought she was mothballed yahrens ago!"

"Apparently Colonel Tigh decided she was still spaceworthy." Apollo replied, "Tigh personally made the assignments. I guess he figured we needed all the shuttles we can get."

Ajax shook his head, "I wonder which poor guy got stuck with that rusty canister." He flipped to the officers' channel, "Pilot of the shuttle _Lemon_, identify yourself."

After a few moments of silence, Ajax flipped back to the leaders' channel.

"No response, Apollo. They probably didn't have a chance to fix the comm. receiver on that thing before launch." Ajax said.

"Hmm. I'll check the computer." Apollo frowned. He had a funny feeling about the _Lemon_.

Ajax suddenly shouted, "Apollo! The _Lemon_ has reversed course! She's headed out into open space!"

"That's not all." Apollo said, stunned and suspicious, "She's been assigned to…" he trailed off, unable to say it.

"Who?" Ajax asked, wondering whose name could startle Apollo so much.


	16. Assignment

"All warriors accounted for, Commander," Athena said, She paused as she listened to the report from her earpiece, "This is strange. We have confirmation from eleven shuttle pilots, but the shuttlebay reports _twelve _successful launches!"

"Twelve?" Adama turned to Colonel Tigh.

Colonel Tigh looked baffled, "A shuttle without a pilot?"

"No, sir. Twelve shuttles have been assigned to twelve pilots for this mission." Athena checked the charts on her computer monitor.

"I made the assignments myself," Colonel Tigh was still puzzled, "And I am quite sure I only assigned the eleven shuttles currently in service."

"Sir!" Athena cried, "Record shows that the shuttle _Lemon _was called out of its retirement just prior to launch!"

"The _Lemon_?" Tigh mused, "That ship hasn't been used for yahrens!"

"Who is the _Lemon _assigned to?" Commander Adama asked thoughtfully.

"The shuttle _Lemon _is assigned to…" Athena punched a few buttons, then looked a bit shocked at the outcome. "Oh sir! It was assigned to Lt. Starbuck of Blue Squadron!"

Adama looked shocked for a moment, then thoughtfully suspicious.

Tigh remained confused, "Lt. Starbuck was not listed among the mission personnel…"

"Of course not, Colonel." Adama sighed, "The lieutenant did not return from the last Cylon attack."

Tigh looked at Adama, alarmed.

"It would seem that someone has commandeered the _Lemon_." Adama gazed calmly at Colonel Tigh.

"Who would be crazy enough to steal the _Lemon_ ?" Tigh asked, "Just to take that thing into space is attempted suicide! Unless that person was totally desperate…"

Tigh thought for a moment. Then his eyes widened.

"Commander, that spitfire of a pilot from Vaga…you don't think…"

"Before we start accusing people, we need to know three things." Adama said, "Whether they had the opportunity to do it, the ability to do it, and the motive to do it."

He leaned over the videocomm monitor, "Get me the life center."

Cassiopeia's face appeared on the screen. "Yes, Commander?"

"Is Lt. Celeste available?" Adama asked.

"I'm afraid not, Commander," Cassiopeia frowned, "She left here nearly three centares ago."

"Thank you, Cassiopeia. Adama out." Adama switched off the monitor.

"So, Lt. Celeste had opportunity," Tigh said.

"Yes," Adama said gravely, "but did she have ability, and what would be her motive? We don't have sufficient evidence that she did it. Still, it deserves investigation."

"Should we alert the shuttles?" Colonel Tigh asked.

"We should notify the captains, but no alerts. Not yet. We'll let the _Lemon _make the next move." Adama sat down, "Maybe we'll get more clues as to who this shuttle thief is."


	17. Gone

"It's Lt. Celeste, I know it." Apollo sighed. He and Boomer were on Vaga, scouting a casino for people interested in returning to the fleet.

So far, they hadn't had much luck.

The two pilots sat down for a break.

Boomer looked closely at Apollo, "What makes you so sure? The shuttlebay mainframe is networked directly to _Galactica _Security. It would take the calculating ability of a machine to crack the codes…and without detection!"

Apollo closed his eyes. It was true. Everything was falling into place.

"It _was_ her," Apollo said, "she tried to tell me but…" he took a deep breath. Then his heart sank as he realized the shuttle was heading out into open space.

"Oh, no." Apollo looked at Boomer, "She's gone after the Cylon basestar!" Apollo looked stricken.

"Cylon basestar? Captain, what's going on?" Boomer asked, concerned.

Apollo slowly shook his head, trying to make sense of what logic was telling him, "She went after the Cylons in the _Lemon_, Boomer…she's not coming back."

"Whoa!" Boomer cried. He wasn't sure he understood what was making his normally rational friend act so strangely, but he didn't like it. Boomer stood, "Captain, I don't know what this is all about, but we have a mission here on Vaga. Let's let the _Galactica _worry about the Cylons for a while, okay?"

"You're right," Apollo sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it right now. Let's find some passengers."

Boomer led the way back into the tangled mass of vacationers. Apollo stood outside for a moment, staring into the starless sky.

_I miss you, Celeste._ he thought, _Please be okay. I'll come as soon as I can. Hang in there. _


	18. Alone

Celeste was on her way to get some passengers. She flew slowly through the emptiness of space. The _Lemon _was a very slow-moving shuttle. Celeste hoped it would get her to her destination. It seemed so far away. It all did: the _Galactica_, the Cylon basestar, Vaga. Even the stars did little to make her feel less alone. Like all the good things, they stayed always just out of reach, taunting…sparkling…like shining promises.

_Why am I out here? _Celeste thought, _Why? I could have had a great life on the _Galactica_! All I had to do was follow the rules, and I could have lived there for the rest of my life. Instead, I'm off on a crazy mission to a Cylon basestar to rescue people who everyone else thinks are dead. I probably won't ever see those kind people on the battlestar again. _

_I may not even see the people on the basestar again! _

_If only there were no Cylons. If only I could have a family, a world, friends to call my own! I could have at least had friends on the _Galactica_, maybe. But if I went back…well…that chance is probably gone now. Even Apollo's mad at me, I'll bet. _

_Oh, Apollo. We could've been friends. Instead, I've disappointed you. And I failed to save Starbuck from being taken by the Cylons, just like I failed my squadron and my family. So many people…so many good, innocent people are gone…_

_I want them back! I want the life that was stolen from me!_

Celeste's heart was filled with tears. Tears she had vowed never to shed. She looked sadly out the shuttle's front viewglass at the distant stars.

And she felt the loneliness as she never had before.

Centares passed.

Up ahead loomed a dark, silvery double-pancake shaped Cylon basestar. Celeste shook her head to clear her thoughts. This was her chance, her last chance, to do something good with her life. Either she would be able to right a few wrongs done by the Cylons, or she would simply vanish into the stars.

Resigned to this, Celeste flew the _Lemon _straight towards the Cylon basestar, and towards her fate.


	19. Related

Apollo stepped off the shuttle. He had just landed on the _Galactica _with a disappointingly small group of people. He was very surprised to see Cassiopeia rushing towards him.

"Captain Apollo!" she cried, "There's something very important that you should know! It's about Lt. Celeste!"

"Oh?" Apollo looked as Cassiopeia with interest.

"I heard you were landing…and I have to tell someone!" Cassiopeia panted. She had probably run straight from the life center.

"Whoa, slow down, _what_ is it you have to tell someone?" Apollo asked the excited med-tech.

"Captain, the life center ran some tests, and we found out…" Cassiopeia hesitated, unsure of how best to share this news.

"Go on," Apollo urged gently.

"We found out that Lieutenant Celeste had a family member in the fleet."

"Really?" Apollo was surprised again, "who are they? Do we know them?"

Cassiopeia bit her lip, which had begun to tremble, "He's…her brother."

"And?" Apollo asked.

"And Celeste's brother is…_was _Starbuck." Cassiopeia's eyes filled with water.

Apollo nearly staggered when he realized what she had said. He was beyond surprised now. "Starbuck?" Apollo gasped out the name, forcing his mouth to form the syllables. "That…explains a few things."

Cassiopeia was crying, "Oh, Captain, I heard about the _Lemon_. Starbuck and Celeste never knew…all those yahrens…they had family…and they were on the same battlestar…they'll never know!" Exhausted and full of grief, Cassiopeia fell into Apollo's arms, sobbing for her lost pilot and the sister he never knew he had.

Apollo held her comfortingly, "Don't worry," he said firmly, "I'm going to find her. I'll tell her. At least shewill _know_…she deserves to know."

Cassiopeia looked scared, "Apollo, it's been nearly a senton! She's probably centares away by now."

"She was in the slowest shuttle; I'll be flying a Viper." Apollo pointed out.

"It's too dangerous, Apollo! You don't even know where she is. Space is big." Cassiopeia frowned at him, her blue eyes worried.

"I know where she went. I should be able to find her within a few centares." Apollo tried to reassure Cassiopeia. The young woman didn't look convinced.

"Cassiopeia let me ask you something. If you thought there was even a chance that Starbuck could still be alive, would you go to a Cylon basestar to save him?" Apollo's voice was in the shuttlebay, but his eyes were deep in space.

"Yes," Cassiopeia swallowed, "oh, I'd go to Cylon if I could have him back! Why are you asking?"

Apollo looked into Cassiopeia's eyes, "Because that's what I'm going to do." He turned and headed for the Viper launch bay.

Cassiopeia wiped her eyes as she watched him leave, too stunned and confused and grieved to say a word in protest.


	20. Captive

Before she knew it, Celeste was being escorted by two Cylon guards to the Cylons' idea of a brig. The guards acted as though they had brought in a tough criminal. Celeste smiled inwardly. All was going as planned.

She was led at blasterpoint down a dark corridor. On either side, rusted metal slats composed the walls and doors of the "prison cells". Celeste glanced into a cell and saw humanoid prisoners, all of whom wore pilot uniforms in various states of disarray. The whole place smelled of metal dust and corrosion. Celeste shuddered at the memories that bombarded her brain. This place hadn't changed any in the yahrens since she's been there last.

Finally, the Cylons came to a cell. Celeste knew it must be full of their most recent victims. The Cylon guards shoved Celeste into it. The slatted door slammed shut behind her.

Celeste sat down on an available bench and surveyed the other occupants of the cell. All were asleep, and appeared gaunt. All wore shreds of Colonial Warrior uniforms. A few had been fitted with Cylon helmets. Still, the woman knew who they were.

They were from the _Galactica_.

The woman warrior closed her eyes. Her memories pulled her back to a time when things were not so complicated. When the only person she had to get out of the Cylon prison was herself. It had taken her several sectares to come up with an effective plan, and even after all that planning, she had barely escaped. In those sectares, the Cylons had begun to change her. They gave her lightning reflexes and quick computing abilities. Ironically, those same abilities had allowed her to escape. They had helped her survive the Cylon attacks on Caprica. They made her the best pilot anyone had ever seen.

But they had a price. Celeste no longer felt she was entirely human. Sure, she was anatomically unchanged. She did not have Cylon thought patterns or the urge to kill humans, thank goodness. But neither did she react as a human would when she was flying. She could communicate directly to ship computers. Most people couldn't do that. She also outlived many good pilots…people who under normal circumstances would have been better pilots that she was.

Celeste found herself alone, with only the battles to believe in, and only herself to trust. Anyone else could disappear in a moment and a flash of fire.

Again, Celeste scanned the warriors in her cell. She felt for each one. She truly knew what they were going through. Every cell in her body filled with stubborn desire to help these unfortunate pilots.

Then Celeste spotted a familiar face.

"Starbuck!" she cried as she rushed to the young man's side. He moaned a little, but he didn't stir. This wasn't good. Celeste needed Starbuck's help for her plan to succeed. She gently shook him. No answer.

She shook him harder. Still no answer.

Then, like a voice in her head, an idea came to Celeste.

"Hey, Starbuck? Listen to this." Celeste leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Parties…cubits…drinks…womans…"

Suddenly, Starbuck's eyes flew open. He coughed and sat upright, knocking Celeste to the floor. Starbuck blinked at the cell.

"Felgercarb! Just a dream," he mumbled. He began to sink slowly back into sleep.

"Starbuck, wake up!" Celeste ordered frustratedly, standing up.

_Okay. That time I _definitely_ heard a female voice. _Starbuck thought. _But where is it coming from? Maybe I'll see her if I open my eyes. _

"Aaah!" Starbuck yelled. He was face-to-face with a huge pair of blue eyes! He shut his eyes as quickly as he had opened them.

"Starbuck, it's me! It's Celeste!" Celeste said, trying to rouse him.

"Can't be," Starbuck yawned, keeping his eyes closed, "because I'm dead, and Celeste can't die. I know…I've seen her fight and I've seen her gamble."

"Starbuck, that's very flattering, but you aren't dead! We're alive!" Celeste cried.

"What are you talking about, alive? Everyone else here's dead, and I know this ain't heaven. I've seen heaven, and it's whiter." Starbuck continued to mumble crazily, "Though I never imagined Cylons running the place, it all makes sense now."

It didn't make sense to Celeste.

"Starbuck, snap out of it! I need your help!" Celeste shook him again, "We've got to get out of here!" Then she tried another tactic, "Come, on. Cassiopeia's waiting for you!"

"Who's…Cassiopeia?" Starbuck fell asleep.

"Blasted Cylons!" Celeste stomped angrily, "they've scrambled your brain! Now what?" She dejectedly sat on her bench again. "If I remember correctly, the sleepiness doesn't wear off for a couple of centares after the torture! I bet you guys just got back, too." Celeste thought hard, trying to come up with a plan that didn't require two alert people.

"Oh, Apollo! I've failed you!" Celeste sobbed at last. It was the first time she had vocally let her feelings come out. She put her head down and let them go.

Two Colonial Warrior boots appeared by her head. Celeste looked up into the handsome face of a warrior several yahrens younger than herself.

"Did you say, Apollo?" he asked in a partially electronic voice.

"Yeah," Celeste sniffed, embarrassed to be caught crying, "I was talking about my friend, Captain Apollo. At least, he _was _my friend. I doubt if he still is; he was upset with me last time I saw him." She sighed grimly, "Now that I think about it, he had every right to be."

"Apollo is my brother," The young warrior said, " I sure miss him. He probably thinks I'm dead now, though I'm not sure how wrong he'd be. What's your name?" The warrior sat down beside her.

Celeste swallowed her tears, "My name is Lt. Celeste of…well, it doesn't really matter where I'm from, I guess. But…" Then the light came back to Celeste's deep blue eyes, "maybe we can help each other!"

The warrior's eyes lit up too, a little, "You have a plan?"

"Yeah," Celeste's mind was in full gear, "It involved Starbuck, but clearly, you'll have to help me, instead…" she gestured toward the sleeping lieutenant, "However, I think we can get us out of here!"

"Wow. Escape. I've been here so long, I'm starting to feel like a Cylon."

Celeste knew that wasn't far from the truth.

The warrior continued, "It's so hard to resist when they…" the young man grew silent.

"I know." Celeste whispered. She understood.

The warrior looked at her, stood, and saluted her with a smile.

"Lieutenant Zac at your service, ma'am," he said.

Celeste smiled, "Glad to have you. Now, this plan…"


	21. The Escape

The Cylon guards returned exactly one and one half centares later. The scene that met their sensors would have shocked them, had they been equipped with emotion circuits.

Gone was the cell full of brainless, listless humans. Instead, they found a makeshift casino! Benches had been pushed together to form gaming tables. Cards and cubits were made from the synthetic dishes the prisoners received their rations from. There was even a strange-looking slot machine made from Cylon armor held together with holsters! Oddly, though, the humans were nowhere to be seen.

This did not compute. When the Cylons had left, there were prisoners. When they returned, the prisoners appeared to be gone.

"Locate the humans," one Cylon told the other in trademark Cylon monotone. The Cylons opened the slatted cell gate and clomped into the cell-casino. They busily began overturning tables and throwing things around.

Suddenly, a blanket snuck up behind each Cylon and knocked them out with a pair of boots. Celeste and Zac emerged from under the blankets. They tied up the Cylons' legs with warrior belts.

"Good thing they left us with our belts and holsters when they took our blasters!" Celeste remarked.

"Yeah," Zac picked up the Cylons' guns and handed one to Celeste, "Okay, time for phase two."

"Right," said Celeste. She quickly lashed the cell door open with her own belt, and then she pulled the blankets off a makeshift blind, which hid the other prisoners!

"Come, on, guys, snap to it!" Celeste ordered the sleepy warriors. Groggily, they tried to stand up. Starbuck leapt to his feet.

"Wha-what's going on?" he cried, "Where am I?"

"Starbuck! Welcome back to the land of the living." Celeste grabbed another warrior to help him to his feet.

"My head, " Starbuck said. Then he saw Zac.

"Hey, if we're alive, what's he doing here?"

"I'll explain later," Celeste shoved Starbuck out the cell door, "But the Cylons will be sending reinforcements any micron. We've got to get these guys out to the hangar bay."

"Hangar bay?" Starbuck mumbled. He wasn't totally awake yet.

"Celeste! We've got keys!" Zac pulled a sat of cell keys off of an inert Cylon. Celeste did the same with the other Cylon.

"Great! Starbuck, you get these guys out. Zac, you and I are going to unlock the other cells." Celeste sprang into action. She and Zac ran down the hall, unlocking cells as they went. Starbuck helped the prisoners get out of their cells. They were all in various states of consciousness. The most alert warriors helped Starbuck, trying to rouse their sleeping companions.

When Zac and Celeste had opened the last cell and freed the people inside, Celeste dashed to the front of the half-awake crowd.

"Follow me!" she shouted. She moved ahead, with Zac bringing up the rear, making sure no one got left behind. Starbuck was somewhere in between, trying to keep people moving. The group slowly left the prison.

Blaster fire was heard from up ahead. The Cylons had come! Zac pushed through the crowd to the front to help Celeste fight them off.

The Cylons didn't stand a chance.

Within microns, Celeste was taking blasters from fallen Cylons and distributing them amongst the most alert warriors.

"Okay, everyone, follow Zac now!" Celeste said. She turned to Zac, "You know where the main hanger bay is. Go there, break into the computer, and unlock the security codes for all of the Cylon fighters and the shuttle _Lemon_. Get the sleepiest warriors into the shuttle, and all the alert ones into fighters. Then launch and hightail it for home. Got it? The _Lemon _has the coordinates for the _Galactica _programmed in."

Zac nodded. Then he looked concerned, "What about you? Where are you going?"

"I…" Celeste glanced toward a corridor, "have a date with destiny." She looked back at Zac, "Your job is to get those pilots in the air. Don't worry about me; I'll join you soon. Okay?"

Zac tried to smile at her, "Yes, ma'am!"

Celeste looked at Zac for a moment before she took off down the corridor. He _did _look a lot like a young Apollo. He was lucky. Soon, he might see his family again.

Celeste ran down the hallway, scanning the doors. The writing was in Cylon, but she could read it and understand it. Finally, she came to one that said, "Fighter Beam Relay Station". That must be it.

Slowly, Celeste opened the surprisingly unlocked door. She pointed the blaster inside and peeked into the room.

A few Cylons stood in the dark room around a large generator of some kind. Celeste knew it was what she had come for. She knew it was the reason she had come here the first time. It was networked to the weapons systems of every single Cylon fighter in the galaxy.

It was the machine that captured pilots.

Taking a deep breath, Celeste swung around the door and fired the gun at the Cylons. All but one went down. The one Cylon ducked behind the generator. It leapt up to fire at Celeste, but she was too quick. The Cylon joined its fellow Cylons on the floor.

Celeste walked up to the Cylon and stood looking down at it.

"I'll bet you were the one in charge here." Celeste said, "Which means…" she reached down and felt around the Cylon's utility belt.

"Ah ha!" She said when her hand found what she was looking for, "I thought so!" Celeste grabbed it and held it up in the dim light.

A bomb with a timer. Designed to destroy the generator at a moment's notice, in case the station fell to enemies.

"Perfect."

Celeste twisted the top of the bomb, stuck it to the underside of the awful machine, and dashed out of the room.

The bomb ticked away the time.


	22. Enemies

Elsewhere on the Cylon basestar, hangar bay doors swung open. Fifty Cylon fighters and a clunky yellow shuttle glided out of the bay and into space. The basestar's anti-fighter weapons promptly began firing on them.

Then, from another bay, scores of evil Cylon fighters flew at the renegades.

"Uh, oh, guys, we've got company!" Starbuck whirled his fighter to fire on the oncoming Cylons. Zac did the same.

"I'm not used to flying a Cylon ship!" cried one lieutenant, struggling with the controls.

"None of us are! Just do the best you can," Starbuck said. He was also having minor difficulties with the alien controls of the three-person ship.

"I can't tell who I'm supposed to fire on!" someone yelled.

"Hey! Turn on your landing lights!" Zac suggested.

Fifty Cylon ships turned on their landing lights.

"Much better! Thanks, Zac!"

Cylon fighters fired on Cylon fighters. The score was even; calm, calculating Cylons were pitted against clever, daring Colonial Warriors with special abilities. Silver ships swarmed and danced through the vacuum of space. Still fighting, Zac led the strange squadron gradually toward the location of the _Galactica_. So far, the fugitive fleet of fighters was doing pretty well. They were actually driving the Cylons back!

Zac caught sight of a bunch of Viper fighters on his sensors.

"Incoming!" he said to Starbuck. No doubt, the _Galactica _had caught sight of all of the Cylon fighters on her scanners. Zac could imagine how alarmed Commander Adama, his dad, might be at the approaching attack force. The _Galactica _had probably sent her own fighters to intercept the Cylons.

Except that not all of them were Cylons.

Apollo looked again at his scanner. Yep, there were at least a hundred Cylon fighters slowly moving toward the fleet. Great. Blue squadron was on a rescue mission! They didn't have the firepower to destroy a hundred fighters on their own! Apollo switched his comm. to the _Galactica_'s channel.

"_Galactica_, this is Blue Leader. We have encountered an entire Cylon attack force heading your way. Request additional fighters to assist."

"We read you, Blue Leader, additional Viper squadrons are on the way."

Apollo watched the Cylons out his canopy. There was something strange about the way they were flying. They weren't moving like normal Cylons.

Starbuck kept an eye on the Vipers while he rewired the comm. Finally, it was ready. He switched it on.

"_THE IMPERIOUS LEADER HAS ORDERED ALL Z CLASS UNITS TO REPORT TO BASE ALPHA…_"

Oops, wrong channel.

Starbuck reconnected a few wires. Ahh, human voices!

"Blue Leader, this is Red Leader. We're here to assist you, Apollo."

"Thanks Ajax, we'll need all the help we can get, from the look of it."

"Hi, guys, did you miss me?"

Apollo's eyes grew wide.

"Starbuck? Is that you? Where are you?" Apollo cried.

"Starbuck? What's going on here?" Ajax said, confused.

"You've got me." Boomer said.

Starbuck laughed, "I'm right in front of you guys!"

Apollo saw the _Lemon _on his scanner. How had Starbuck…? Uh oh, the _Lemon_ was surrounded by Cylons!

"Well, get out of there! There's Cylons all over the _Lemon _can't take a direct hit!"

"That's why we're escorting it."

"Escorting it?"

"There's one on your tail, Captain!" Boomer said, flying to assist.

"Don't shoot! That's me!" Starbuck cried, "Apollo? Are you there?"

"You're crazy, Starbuck."

"Hey, don't tell that to me, this was all that Lt. Celeste's idea." Starbuck said defensively.

"Celeste? Where is she? Don't tell me she's in a Cylon fighter, too." Apollo asked.

"Uh, I don't know. She said she had something to do back on the basestar. She should be here by now. Hang on and I'll check with the guys." Starbuck switched back over to the Cylon comm.

"Hey, Zac, have you seen Lt. Celeste anywhere?" he asked.

Zac sounded concerned, "No, she should be here by now."

"That's what I told Apollo, but I don't see her."

"Apollo's here?"

"Sure, that's Blue Squadron in front of you."

"Tell him 'hi' for me." Zac turned his fighter and began flying back the way they had come.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Starbuck asked.

"I'm going to go get Celeste." Zac's fighter went out of sensor range.

Starbuck sighed and switched back over to the Colonial frequency.

"Apparently, Celeste is still not here. Too bad, we could sure use her!" Starbuck twirled his fighter to fire on an enemy Cylon.

"How many of you are there?" Apollo asked, his attention returning to the battle.

"There's about fifty Cylon fighters with warriors flying them." Starbuck replied.

"How do we know which ones to fire on?" Ajax asked.

"Well, the real Cylons don't have their landing lights on."

"We read you, Starbuck."

The battle raged on.


	23. Explosion

Celeste dashed down the hall toward the secondary hangar bay. She figured all of the ships in the main bay would be taken. She hadn't figured on all of the secondary ships being launched after the first ones!

"This is not good." Celeste said when she reached the empty secondary bay, "I hope Starbuck and the others are okay!"

Celeste had no other choice but to run halfway around the basestar to the third hangar bay; and hope the Cylons didn't catch her.

She checked her chronometer. She only had ten centons before this entire side of the basestar blew up!

She ran like there was an entire Cylon garrison after her, which wasn't far from the truth.

Cylons came out of doors and corridors, firing their blasters at the running woman. Still running, Celeste fired a few shots back at them.

Five centons to go.

There was the hangar bay ahead. Celeste skidded to a halt in front of it, blasted the controls, and ran inside.

"Finally, a bay with ships inside it!" Celeste remarked, rushing towards the docking control computer. She rapidly began typing, trying to release the locking mechanism on the fighters.

Two centons to go.

Finally, the lock indicator went green. Celeste dashed to a fighter just as the Cylons arrived at the bay.

Celeste ducked behind the smooth, flat fighter when the Cylons began firing at her.

"Felgercarb!"

Thirty microns to go.

Sliding to the door control, Celeste punched it with her fist. The door opened and the woman leaped inside, slamming it shut behind her. Blaster bolts ricocheted off the hatch.

Fifteen microns.

Celeste powered up the fighter and lifted off. She fired the ship's weapons at the hangar door. It opened.

The silvery ship thrusted toward the hangar door.

The hangar exploded.

Zac was headed toward the basestar when the shockwave hit his fighter.

"Wow! What was that?" He checked his sensors. Then he looked up. The basestar was exploding!

Zac's eyes grew wide. He whirled the fighter and thrusted away, trying to outrun the debris. One piece seemed determined to follow him! It flew farther than any other piece. Zac twisted his fighter aside and allowed the debris to get ahead of him. Then he realized the debris was a flat, oval-shaped piece of chrome metal. It was a Cylon fighter.

"Celeste?" Zac cried hopefully.

"Hi, Zac! Where's everyone else?" Celeste hung back until she was beside Zac.

Zac grinned, "They're on their way home. I came back to see if you needed any help. Apparently, I shouldn't have bothered."

"Thanks," Celeste said, "You almost should have."

The two chrome-colored ships headed into space, side-by-side.


	24. Chapter 24

The fleet of fighters was nearing the _Galactica_. There were still hostile Cylons among them, however, so they continued fighting. Lasers flashed and Cylon fighters exploded as the _Lemon _floated lazily toward the battlestar.

"_Galactica_, this is Blue Leader. Prepare all landing bays for friendly Cylon fighters. Get some med-tech teams ready. Do you copy?" Apollo said.

"Friendly, sir?"

"They are piloted by Colonial Warriors."

"Um, yes, sir."

"Starbuck, tell your pilots that they can land now. The Vipers will keep the real Cylons away from the fleet."

"Yes, sir!" Starbuck said happily.

The Cylon fighters with their landing lights on flew into both landing bays. Then two more appeared on Apollo's sensors.

"We come in peace!" said a familiar voice.

"Celeste!" Apollo said, "Turn on your landing lights!"

One of the approaching Cylons turned on its lights. The other ship did likewise.

Celeste flew her fighter through the fighting, firing at unlighted ships as she went. Then an explosion rocked her fighter.

"I'm hit!" she cried, switching her comm. "Zac, watch my tail! I'll try to stabilize the ship!" The fighter rocked and spiraled crazily as another Cylon fired on her. Apparently the Cylons had figured out what the lights meant.

"Blasted Cylon tinfoil!" Celeste cried as her electronic control panel burst into flame. Her hands burned, Celeste grabbed the manual controls.

The Cylon fired on Celeste again, and then it stopped.

"Got him!" Zac whooped.

"Thanks, Zac." Celeste said, regaining control of the fighter.

"Anytime, ma'am!" Zac said, "Wow, you're pretty beat up. You'd better land."

"I can still fight. I'm not leaving you guys." Celeste protested.

"Yes, you are. That was the last one!" Zac said.

Celeste checked her scanner, and then glanced out the canopy. He was right! She grinned with relief.

"Did you hear that, guys?" Celeste said to the remaining warriors piloting Cylon ships, "We're going home!"

She heard the other pilots cheering.

_Home._ Celeste thought, _Sort of._


	25. Homecoming

The landing bay was there to welcome Celeste. She set the Cylon ship down easily. She glanced at Zac's fighter, which had settled down next to hers.

"Ready to see your brother?" Celeste asked over the comm.

"I…don't know." Zac sounded a little nervous.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you." Celeste stepped toward the door. It opened.

She was welcomed by _Galactica_ Security and a stony-faced man who could only be the illustrious Colonel Tigh.

Nervously, Celeste stepped out of the ship.

"Hi, fellas. Where's the party?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Commander Adama wishes to speak with you." Colonel Tigh announced.

Celeste swallowed, "You must be Colonel Tigh! I've heard a lot of things about you."

The security guards began hustling her towards the hall.

"Good things!" Celeste yelled back towards Tigh as they took her away.

Tigh looked at the landing bay full of Cylon fighters. He sighed, "That woman's trouble."

"I don't know, she didn't seem too bad to me," a metallic voice said from the other side of Celeste's fighter.

Tigh was alarmed. He stood up straight and peeked around the fighter. When he saw who stood in the hatchway of the other Cylon fighter, his eyes widened. His jaw dropped. He could not trust his own vision.

"Zac?" Tigh asked, stunned.

"The one and only!" Zac stepped out of the fighter.


	26. Lecture

Celeste walked into Commander Adama's office. He sat at his desk, holding a picture in his hand. Celeste came to attention.

"Lt. Celeste reporting in, Commander," she said smartly.

"At ease, Lieutenant. Have a seat," Commander Adama said.

Celeste sat.

"I understand that you have an idea for getting that planet to stop following us," Commander Adama set the picture on his desk and looked at Celeste.

"Yes, sir."

"I'd like to hear it."

Celeste met the commander's gaze. "The planet Vaga is somehow attracted to the ion emissions from ships. Obviously, a fleet this size puts out quite a lot of ion emissions."

"Go on." Commander Adama urged.

Celeste took a deep breath, "Sir, to be honest, the only way to get rid of the planet is to stop the trail of ions. All of the ships must shut down at the same time, preferably near another source of ions."

"A Cylon basestar?"

"That would work."

Commander Adama sat back in his chair, looking thoughtful. Then he asked a question that threw Celeste for a double-helical Viper loop.

"What do you think of my son, Captain Apollo, Lieutenant?"

Celeste was taken aback, "Um, he's a fine man, Commander. I…uh, I like him a lot."

Adama looked at her shining eyes for a while. "Hmm," he said.

Celeste thought she saw a twinkle in the commander's eye, just for a micron.

"Do you know why I asked you to come here?" Commander Adama asked the woman.

Celeste was reminded of the time when she had to face her foster dad after she had taken the family auto for a joyride when she was fourteen. He had asked her something similar.

"Well, uh, I did several things that were against the rules, sir," Celeste said finally.

"That was one of the reasons," Commander Adama nodded, "but the main reason was that I heard my grandson was quite taken with you when you came aboard."

Celeste was unsure of how to respond.

"I am quite fond of him as well, sir."

"He was very worried a few centares ago when you left," Adama looked deep into Celeste's blue eyes.

Celeste cleared her throat. She began to wonder if they were still talking about Boxey. She looked down.

"I had to leave, sir." Celeste almost whispered. _Before I got too attached. _

"I see," Adama seemed to be able to read Celeste's mind, "Well, don't let it happen again. I hate to see him so upset," Adama said gravely.

Celeste looked up at Adama. Now she knew he wasn't only talking about Boxey.

"Yes, sir."

"Lieutenant, the actions you have taken were reckless and bordering on the extreme. You disobeyed Captain Apollo _and _Colonel Tigh to join the squadrons in combat, during which you performed extremely risky maneuvers. You managed to land your damaged Viper, then immediately launched another one without authorization. This Viper _somehow_ got rammed into the starboard side of the _Galactica_," he paused.

Celeste winced. She could still see the silvery ship coming at her.

Adama continued, "Once you healed from _that _incident, you snuck into the ranks of the warriors, hacked into the _Galactica _mainframe, and commandeered the worst ship in the fleet, under a deceased lieutenant's name!"

Celeste started to speak, but Adama held up his hand.

"You flew this ship, which wasn't entirely spaceworthy, directly to a Cylon basestar. You returned from that trip with nearly fifty warrior-flown Cylon fighters, and an entire Cylon attack force at your heels.

Celeste frowned, "What are you getting at?"

"All I want to know is what your motivation is. Lieutenant, the things you do, the risks you take…they aren't normal. They remind me of someone I knew who didn't think he had a family who cared about him, just because all of his living relatives were dead. He threw his life into the cause of protecting lives from the Cylons. Sadly, he didn't realize how many people cared about him, how many people miss him."

Celeste averted her eyes to the table. How did he know? How could Adama have guessed how Celeste felt? Then she remembered some stories that Apollo had told her on the flight from Vaga.

"You're talking about Starbuck, aren't you?" Celeste inquired.

"Perhaps. But Lt. Celeste, I believe I am also talking about you."

"How…how did you know?" Celeste asked.

Adama smiled, "I have a daughter, Lieutenant." Then he looked softly at Celeste, "Family isn't only people who are related, you know."

Celeste looked at the pictures on Adama's desk. One showed Adama, Apollo, Zac, and a pretty young lady standing together. Another was a picture of Apollo and Starbuck smiling in their warrior uniforms. Then there was a much younger Adama and Tigh standing beside a Viper in a landing bay. Two more pictures showed Adama and a woman, presumably his wife; and Apollo and a smiling lady (Boxey's mom?) at their wedding, with Boxey in front and Adama standing nearby.

"Yeah," Celeste breathed.

The door swung open and Colonel Tigh burst into the room. Breathlessly, he tried to explain.

"Landing bay…Cylon fighter…Lt. Celeste…I saw him, Sir!"

Adama stood and walked to his friend, "Saw who?"

Tigh looked as though he had seen a ghost.

"Z…Z…he's in the life center! They all are! I can't believe it myself, sir." Tigh stammered.

Then Apollo walked in through the still-open door, "What's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know," answered Adama, still looking at Tigh, "but perhaps we should go down to the life center and find out."

On the way to the life center, Apollo excused himself.

"I'll join you guys soon, but I have to say 'hi' to Boxey first." Apollo explained. Commander Adama nodded in understanding. Apollo turned down a corridor; Celeste followed him.

"Apollo?" Celeste said when they reached his door, "I uh, I just wanted to apologize…and say, thank you."

"For what?" Apollo looked at Celeste carefully.

Celeste smiled at Apollo, "For being my family." She said simply.

Apollo grinned knowingly, "You've been talking to my dad."

"Yeah," Celeste looked down sheepishly. Then she looked up, "He's right, though."

Apollo and Celeste kept looking at each other's eyes, wondering at their thoughts.

Bark, bark! Snuffle whuffle, bark!" Sounds broke the silence.

"What is it, Muffit? Who's out there?" said Apollo's quarters.

Apollo smiled, "Speaking of family!" He opened the door.

Celeste giggled in an un-Celeste-like way as she followed him inside.

"Hi Boxey!" Apollo greeted his son.

"Dad! You're back!" Boxey ran into his father's arms, "Muffit and I are very glad to see you. We missed you!"

Muffit wagged his tail and cocked his head.

"And I missed you guys, too." Apollo ruffled Boxey's hair, and then released him. Boxey turned around and grinned at Celeste.

"Hi, Miss Celeste!" Boxey patted Muffit, "Say 'hi', Muffit"

"Bark!" said Muffit. Boxey beamed proudly, "I taught him that."

"Wow!" said Celeste, "That's amazing! He's a very smart daggit."

"Yeah," said Boxey, "He is. Do you have a nickname, Miss Celeste?"

"Um, well, I did when I was in the Academy," Celeste replied, "Why do you ask?"

Boxey looked down at Muffit, "My friends don't call me Boxey. They call me Ace because I want to be a fighter pilot."

Celeste nodded, "That's a good nickname. It means you are a top pilot."

"Really?" Boxey looked up at her, "What is your nickname?"

Celeste thought for a moment, "Everyone called me Isis."

Boxey made a face, "What does that mean?"

Celeste raised her eyebrows and shrugged, "I don't know, that's just what they called me!"

"I like 'Miss Celeste' better." Boxey decided.

"Wanna hear a secret?" Celeste asked. Boxey nodded, so she leaned over and whispered, "So do I!"

"Oh, ok, I won't tell anyone!" Boxey said seriously.

"Well, Boxey, we've gotta go now," Apollo said apologetically, "We promised your grandpa that we'd be there."

"Okay, Dad. " Boxey seemed sad, "By, Miss Celeste. Come see me again!"

"I will," Celeste promised. She and Apollo left.

"She's nice, huh Muffit? I wish she could live here and we could see her every day!" Boxey stroked his metallic daggit, who whined and wagged his springy tail.


	27. Family

"Did we miss anything?" Celeste asked when she and Apollo arrived at the life center.

"I told you," Cassiopeia was saying, "They've been through a lot and they aren't ready to see anyone right now. I'm sorry, Commander."

"Hey, Cassie, what's going on?" Celeste said, "I rescued them, and I'll bet they'd see me. Come on, we'll only be here for a few centons."

Cassiopeia looked at Celeste. She hesitated, "Well, okay, but you can't stay long. It's hard enough to keep them calm as it is. They all want to go back to work!"

"Thank you, ma'am" Celeste smiled and raised her eyebrows in a way that reminded Cassiopeia of Starbuck.

Cassiopeia smiled back, then she saw Celeste's burned hands.

"Oh, your poor hands! Why didn't you come in? No wait, let me guess," Cassiopeia looked sternly at Tigh and Adama, "These men wouldn't let you. Let's get those taken care of, I bet they hurt!"

Celeste looked at her hands. Come to think of it, they _did _hurt. She shrugged and followed Cassiopeia into the ward. Apollo, Adama, and Colonel Tigh walked in after the two young women. The ward was overflowing with warriors!

"Whoa," Apollo remarked, "There are so many!"

"Nearly two hundred, sir," Cassiopeia informed them as she worked on Celeste's hands.

Then Adama's face turned ashen when he spotted a certain warrior. His expression changed to one much like Colonel Tigh's was when he had burst into Adama's office.

"What's wrong, Father?" Apollo asked worriedly. Then he looked. And saw, a face he remembered well. Apollo, Adama, and Tigh now all wore the same shocked looks.

"Sons of Kobal!" said Adama, " Is that…"

"It is, sir," said Cassiopeia gently, finishing bandaging Celeste's hands. Cassiopeia stood and quietly went into a side room. Colonel Tigh also left.

"Zac!" Apollo rushed forward to his brother's side, tears in his eyes.

Zac was lying on a bed, asleep. His eyes flew open.

"Apollo?" he said. Zac spoke in a totally human voice now. The life center's doctors had done what they could.

"Oh, Zac! We thought you were dead!" Apollo cried.

"Really?" Zac grinned, "Me too!" The brother's embraced.

Adama walked over, still very much in shock.

"Zac? My boy…" Adama's voice shook.

Then Apollo, Adama, and Zac began laughing with relief, relief that had waited yahrens without a hope of ever revealing itself to its possessors.

Celeste watched from beside the doorway, a small, wistful smile on her face.

Zac glanced at her, "Thank you!" he mouthed.

Celeste grinned and saluted back.

Adama looked up and noticed Celeste, as though he had never seen her before. He saw her watching the happy reunion. The commander walked up to her, smiling as though he was trying to contain his emotion.

"I can't thank you enough…for bringing my boy back to us."

"You already have." Celeste looked at him, "You've shown me what a family looks like."

Adama smiled and patted Celeste's shoulder.

Cassiopeia cleared her throat as she re-entered the main wardroom.

"Lt. Celeste? Lt. Starbuck wants to see you," Cassiopeia said.

"Where is he?" Celeste asked brightly.

"In here," Cassiopeia gestured to the side room. As Celeste passed her, Cassiopeia whispered, "I can't thank you enough for bringing him back."

Celeste smiled at Cassiopeia, and then entered the room, mumbling, "There's a lot of that going around today."

The room was clearly different from the ward. It had game tables, card tables, and exercise equipment.

"I was here two sectons and I never saw this place!" Celeste exclaimed.

She scanned the card tables, and then she shook her head, smiling.

Not surprisingly, Starbuck was deeply involved with a Pyramid game. He was sitting at a card table, winning.

"Um, Lt. Starbuck?" Celeste raised her eyebrows.

"Oh! Hey, guys, great game." Starbuck looked meaningfully at the other players. They left.

Starbuck scooped up all the cubits, "Hey, Celeste! The guys have been giving me a hard time. They think you're a better card player than me."

Warily, Celeste walked over, "Yeah, so?" she said cockily.

"Well, now that I have some cubits, I think we should settle this."

"Now, Lieutenant," Celeste admonished, "You wouldn't just be trying to take advantage of my situation, would you?" Celeste held up her bandaged hands.

"No, no! Not at all!" Starbuck pretended to look offended, "I just want the score to be even, oh Destroyer-Of–Basestars."

Celeste pretended to think about it.

"You're on!" she said happily.

They began a one-on-one game.

Starbuck began playing. I.E., Starbuck began losing.

"How do you do that?" No one wins _every _game they play!" Starbuck cried after the fourth game. The woman with the burnt hands was beating him at his best!

Celeste grinned mischievously, "Ready to quit?"

"Not on your life!" Starbuck reshuffled, "How about four out of five?"

Celeste nodded, fingering her new cubits. This guy was as stubborn as she was! He just wouldn't give up!

Celeste continued to win game after game. Exasperated, Starbuck finally threw his hands in the air.

"You're unbeatable! What's your secret? I could sure use it!"

The woman smiled, "It's all in the strategy, Lieutenant."

"You can call me Starbuck." Starbuck sighed, "Once again, I've lost all of my cubits to you."

"Wanna go again?" Celeste offered, "to try to get them back?"

Starbuck made a face, "Uh, no, thanks. Besides, what would I gamble with, my clothes?"

Celeste made a similar face, "I'd prefer you didn't."

"Wow," said Starbuck, looking across the room at something.

"What?" Celeste asked.

"I don't believe it! Cassiopeia was right!" Starbuck shook his head.

"Right about what?" Celeste asked.

"Well," Starbuck said, "I don't know how to say this…"

"Use your mouth."

Starbuck gave her The Look.

Celeste smiled apologetically, "Sorry, please continue."

Starbuck cleared his throat, "Ah, well, Cassiopeia told me what she told Apollo…uh, and that was…you have a relative. Alive."

Celeste blinked, "Really? You're kidding."

"No, he's…um, your brother." Starbuck stammered. He'd never had this much trouble talking to a woman before.

"My brother's alive?" Celeste asked, "What's his name? Where is he?"

"Uh, he's…not far." Starbuck answered.

"Who is he?" Celeste asked.

"Starbuck! There you are!" Apollo walked in, "How are you feeling?"

"Uh, alive." Starbuck answered with a grin.

"Apollo! Is it true that I have a living brother in the fleet?" Celeste demanded. She wasn't succeeding in getting that info out of Starbuck.

"You didn't tell her?" Apollo looked accusingly at Starbuck.

"Well…" Starbuck wavered.

"Tell me what? Isn't anyone in this battlestar going to tell me?"

Apollo put his hand on Starbuck's shoulder. "Celeste," he said, "meet your brother."

Celeste nearly fell out of her chair. Her face tried on several emotions before it settled on "happy".

"Really?" Celeste laughed, "Wow, you were right there in front of me the whole time! I can't believe it! It makes so much sense!" Celeste shook her head, "I'm a sister. I have a real brother." She turned to Starbuck, "Do you mind if I hug you?" Celeste asked Starbuck.

Starbuck didn't mind.

"Some guys get all the luck," Apollo teased.

"You want one too?" Celeste asked Apollo. She hugged him.

They pulled apart.

And Celeste kissed him just as the alert bell rang.

All three Colonial Warriors hastened towards the door at the same time.

Celeste dashed out the door first.

Apollo followed her. Starbuck tried, but Cassiopeia caught him, "Not until I know you are back to normal," she said.

Starbuck stopped, but he called to Apollo, "You be careful, Captain, that's my sister!"

Apollo grinned and shook his head as he rushed out of the medical ward.

He would take care of Starbuck's sister.

Apollo dashed with Celeste to the launch bay. Celeste had forgotten that she wasn't officially designated to be a Viper pilot on the _Galactica_.

But when she reached the launch bay, there was Colonel Tigh, holding out a helmet to her.

"I think you can handle a Viper." Tigh said. Celeste took the helmet, a bit warily.

"Take care of yourself, Lieutenant," Tigh said, "We need all the good pilots we can get."

Celeste understood. It was as though the dark veil she had been wearing for the past few yahrens had suddenly been lifted.

She had been accepted.

"Lieutenant Celeste of the battlestar _Galactica_, reporting for duty, sir!" she saluted.

Tigh almost smiled, "Second one on the right's yours."

"_Galactica _bridge transferring control to Viper fighters. Launch when ready."

Celeste was ready.


End file.
